New Delhi: With global labour shortages projected to reach 250 million workers by 2047 across blue and white-collar jobs, India’s young and growing workforce presents a historic opportunity to become the world’s next global talent hub, according to a report on Monday.
The report by the Global Access to Talent from India (GATI) Foundation, in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group (BCG), showed that declining birth rates and shrinking workforces across developed nations are creating acute shortages, leaving millions of jobs vacant and businesses struggling.
Just 20 countries, including the US, UK, Germany, Japan, and South Korea, will account for 90 per cent of this labour gap.
Around 50 per cent of the gap will be in blue-collar roles such as transport, hospitality, and industry workers; another 20 per cent in service roles like nursing and teaching; and 30 per cent in white-collar jobs. Unfilled positions already cost the global economy more than $1 trillion annually in lost productivity.
However, India possesses a demographic edge, with a relatively young population. Every year, it adds 10-12 million people to its eligible workforce, and this trend is expected to continue in the coming years.
“By 2047, advanced economies will face a shortfall of 200-250 million workers. India has a unique opportunity to step into this gap, building on its proven strengths in ICT and professional services. The next chapter must be about scaling new frontiers — healthcare, green skills, and manufacturing — where demand is surging worldwide,” said Rajiv Gupta, Managing Director & Senior Partner at BCG.
“India is home to the world’s largest pool of working-age talent and will remain a source of demographic strength as many other economies age. Today, India’s median age is just under 30, with 600 million people between the ages of 18-40 compared to 40+ across OECD countries. Against the backdrop of 50 million global opportunities expected by 2030, India has the capacity to fill around 10 million,” added Arnab Bhattacharya, CEO of GATI Foundation.
Gupta called for “bold reforms to align qualifications, accelerate mobility, and embed global standards” to enable the country to “transform from being a contributor to the global workforce into becoming the backbone of it”.
Currently, Indian workers abroad send back approximately $130 billion per year in remittances.
More than 700,000 people embark on journeys overseas as migrant workers annually. Yet India’s share of global migrants (6 per cent) is significantly lower than its share of the world population (18 per cent).
If India seizes this opportunity, the number of workers migrating abroad for jobs could double to 1-1.5 million a year by 2030, and remittances could rise to $300 billion per year.
If implemented, these interventions can help India replicate the global success of its IT services sector in areas like healthcare, domestic work, and manufacturing, amongst others.
(IANS)
