Staying relevant and acquiring the right skills to tap into high value opportunities
Among the many lessons that emerged from the Covid19 pandemic, a primary one for India is the need for better healthcare infrastructure as well as more human capital in the fields of pharmaceuticals, life sciences and other healthcare spaces. As policy makers and healthcare leaders embrace emerging technologies like never before to improve patient outcomes, the opportunities for job seeker of today have increased immensely and are changing too.
Through two back-to-back panel discussions, Forbes India - Jobs of the Next Decade, a special series powered by Indeed, unveiled a 360-degree view of new age jobs emerging in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors, with valuable takeaways for job seekers.
Moderated by Mridu Bhandari, Editor – Special Projects, Network18, the first panel comprised Farhat Umar, SVP & Group HR Head, Mankind Pharma; Sirshendu Mookherjee - Group Head - HR - Narayana Health; Archana Bhaskar, CHRO, Dr Reddy's; Shreya Bhagwanth, ED – HR, 3M and Sashi Kumar, Indeed India. These industry thought-leaders discussed the theme ‘Health-tech in the Next Normal’ with a special focus on the career options that were emerging as a result of it.
According to a survey by Indeed, healthcare and allied sectors saw the maximum hiring in Q1 2021 (Jan-Mar’21), compared to other sectors. Representing Indeed, an active stakeholder in the changing jobs landscape within the country, Sashi Kumar said, “Health sciences as a career option has gained relevance since the start of the pandemic. While there has been an increase in hiring there has also been a rise in interest to work in this sector.”
As in the case of other industries, Covid19 has accelerated the adoption of digital technologies in pharma and healthcare, impacting traditional roles in these sectors. Farhat Umar observed, “There is a paradigm shift in the pharma sector. Digital transformation and technology has led to a lot of new positions being created with many candidates being hired from the IT sector.”