With a record surge of 20 per cent in hiring numbers, the Indian pharmaceutical and healthcare sector is all set to create around 134,000 jobs this year. This figure, published in the India Skills Report 2016, is up almost three times from the 7.2 per cent growth in hiring which was reported in 2015.
The report, which is a joint initiative of HR recruitment and technology company PeopleStrong and talent assessment company Wheebox, in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry and LinkedIn, forecasts an overall increase of 14.5 per cent in the hiring intent from the current year to the next.
The pharma industry, which is estimated to be worth $20 billion, currently employs around 5.5 to 5.7 lakh people. New hiring, according to the report, is expected to be concentrated in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
The report claims that the creation of a talent pool to feed into the growing pharma and healthcare sector has been bolstered by government helmed initiatives and significant investments in the space.
33.6 per cent of employers, according to the India Skills Report, prefer to recruit fresh graduates, while 33 per cent reportedly preferred those with at least 5 years of work experience generally within the age group of 22 to 25. It also claims that careers in the sector are emerging as a popular choice for Gen Y.
The need for skilled manpower in the sector ranges widely from R&D, Quality Assurance (QA), Intellectual Property (IP), manufacturing to even sales and marketing. The report says that in terms of retention the industry needs have better policies and needs equip them with the necessary skills.
Twenty-five per cent of hires in the sector are made through job portals while 18.75 per cent are recruited via HR consultants.
The sector still prefers to look for candidates through job portals (25 per cent) & HR consultants 18.75 per cent). In comparison to last year sourcing of candidates has slightly decreased through Job portals 22 per cent and Consultants 15 per cent.
A report previously released by PriceWaterhouseCoopers had stated that the growth in the sector over the next 5 years was likely to be good and India would find a place in the top 10 global pharma markets in terms of value by 2020, supported by “high burden of disease, good economic growth leading to higher disposable incomes, improvements in healthcare infrastructure and improved health care financing” which would be the factors driving growth in the domestic market.
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Simar Singh is one of the youngest members of the BW team. A fresh graduate from IIMC, she also holds a degree in political science from LSR. She enjoys covering power, startups, lifestyle and a little bit of tech.
