India faces significant talent shortfalls, particularly for IT engineers, according to Dean Kelly, head of recruitment services, South East Asia at Networkers International.

Kelly told Recruiter:“The banking, technology, biotechnology and pharmaceutical sectors are all seeing growth. Some sectors are seeing talent shortfalls of 80%. The shortfalls are mainly in healthcare, education, banking, technology, pharma and bio-technology.

Kelly’s comments follow reports on news website the International Business Timeswhere N R Narayana Murthy, founder and chairman of software services company Infosys Technologies claimed India’s IT sector would grow annually at the rate of 25% to 26%.

Kelly continues: “Government data estimates that India needs half a million engineers in IT. There are a few factors driving India’s growth. There is the investment from multi-national companies. Companies are using India for their back office support. There is a lot of new IT products and development of services such as Java development happening in India.

“India is struggling across all areas for staff. The challenge for hirers is trying to attract international talent and retain their own talent. A lot of Indians have left India and they are trying to repatriate those people and it’s proving a challenge.

“In healthcare, education, banking and bio-technology these are all areas of basic necessity for people in India and until you can get those basic things in place, you are not going to attract talent to go and work in India.

The government is trying to set up training institutes and skill development centres around IT companies in what they call tier two and tier three states in India. Your Bangalores, Hyderabads, Delhis would be considered tier ones, the metro cities of India. They are focussing on the second and third tier states to develop opportunities for those that have none. That is where they are trying to encourage companies to set up and skill Indian people to do these jobs.

“India is a market where you have an import and export market. The import market is there to being as much skills into India to meet talent shortfalls but by setting up in India you tap into talent that is desperate to go overseas. India is developing so fast that you are looking to put people into India as well as take people out.”