Techies ought to have full stack experience: TCS’ Milind Lakkad

Finishing 5 years because the Chief Human Useful resource Officer at one of many nation’s largest IT corporations, Tata Consultancy Providers, Milind Lakkad has navigated main paradigm shifts within the tech world which have come within the latest years. In a sit-down interview with businessline, Lakkad discusses what these adjustments and new applied sciences resembling AI may imply for the brand new crop of techies.

In 2024, you full 5 years on this position. Over this era, you will have seen many paradigm shifts, what was your expertise of navigating these shifts within the tech sector as an HR chief?

Previously 5 years, we noticed the pandemic adopted by the good resignation period. So sure, it has been a problem. Personally, each problem, in case you take a look at it positively, it’s a great factor. You study loads within the course of and finally you contribute in no matter manner you may. 

Each different day, we see information round layoffs within the tech trade and contemporary graduates typically are struggling to discover a job. What recommendation do you will have for the younger techies?

So, the very first thing is to not lose hope. You will need to use this time to study. Leverage that studying into what’s going to finally grow to be a market-level ability for you. After having spent 37 years now on this job, I nonetheless consider there may be much more for me to study. As a result of there may be all the time one thing new coming in, and there are new abilities to accumulate. 

You could have talked about that the present development for web additions is one thing which is prone to proceed within the upcoming quarters. Does this imply that you’re a leaner and environment friendly working mannequin for the long run?

No. What we did previously was one thing extraordinary by way of hiring, by hiring in droves. These investments are getting leveraged now. The form of bench you would want for a enterprise like ours, we’ll all the time have that bench. Our utilisation numbers will all the time be at a sure degree the place now we have a sure variety of individuals on the bench. It’s going to all the time be people who find themselves coming in, getting skilled, after which finally getting productive.

What about gig staff, will the scope of hiring them scale back sooner or later?

We now have to additionally take a look at them (gig staff) now within the context of AI. If some work might be performed by any individual else with out the context, can it even be performed by the co-pilot, is a query which you need to ask. Alternatives for gig staff may very well be re-evaluated.

As applied sciences carry on evolving, particularly with AI, do you suppose the definition of a median techie is altering?

It’s going to change through the years. It has modified from what it was 10 years in the past to now additionally within the context of latest applied sciences like AI. You principally have to have full stack abilities. You can not say that I’m a developer, I’m a tester. You simply need to have full stack experience. With AI coming in, it’s going to even be one other change that can occur. The entire software program improvement life cycle might be reimagined within the context of AI which you need to be outfitted to know. Gen AI, it’s going to solely change the character of labor. It’s going to change the position of a developer to some extent. However that doesn’t imply that there shall be a quantity difficulty. There shall be much more… totally different sorts of latest roles may even are available in, within the course of.



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