e-tail to add 0.4mn high-skilled jobs by 2021, says study

BANGALORE, INDIA: E-tail and allied ecosystem (logistics, warehousing, IT, ITeS) is expected to create direct employment for around 1.45 million workforce by 2021, reveals the recent study done by Snapdeal and KPMG.

The study focuses on the role of e-tail in socio-economic development, outlining the alignment of measures with key government initiatives like Make in India, Digital India, Start-up India and Skilling India, among others.

Kunal Bahl, Co-founder and CEO, Snapdeal said, "The impact of e-commerce industry on the entire employment landscape has been the most exciting part of India’s digital growth story, and yet often the least spoken about. We felt the need to conduct a systematic study to identify opportunities and challenges, that will further build models and skill sets to foster a mature, sustainable employment avenue."

Richard Rekhy, CEO, KPMG India said, “With innovation and mobile e-commerce leading the way, this industry also looks to propel growth and generate abundant demand for IT/ITeS professionals in the years to come.”

Highlights from the study:

• Logistics and warehousing sector is expected to be the largest contributor (approximately 55%) to direct employment opportunities in e-tail
• E-tail is expected to add 0.4 million high-skilled jobs by 2021
• E-commerce in improving the socio-economic environment
• Impacted employment generation beyond metros –  70% of the online sellers expected to come from smaller towns by 2018-19
• Driving women empowerment and self-sustainability –  20% of total online sellers today are women
• Government initiatives like Make in India, Digital India, Start-Up India, Skill India will fuel growth and generate further employment for e-commerce