By 2030, the world will face an unprecedented workforce shortage of nearly 50 million in developed economies such as the United States, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. A recent Global Access to Talent from India (GATI) foundation report indicates that this deficit could soar to 250 million by 2050 due to an ageing population, declining birth rates, and shrinking domestic talent pools.

While automation and artificial intelligence (AI) may offer some solutions, the pace of technological substitution will not keep up with the demand for human capital from ageing industrial economies. In this context, India has a significant advantage with its demographic dividend of over 900 million working-age individuals, which is often seen as our greatest asset but could also become a demographic burden. To address this challenge, developing the largest pool of skilled and semi-skilled youth and India’s established reputation for adaptability and competence could serve as a vital solution.

India exports around 7,00,000 of its workforce overseas each year, primarily to sectors such as healthcare, transportation, technology, and hospitality. However, this number could increase to 2.5 million annually with an integrated national plan. Such growth in India’s workforce exports would not only help meet global demand but also generate up to $300 billion in annual remittances—more than double the current $129 billion, which ranks India at the top globally. This makes foreign employment a key pillar of India’s global economic outreach.

Global Demand Hotspots

The GATI report indicates that 20 nations will account for nearly 90 per cent of the projected global workforce shortage. The United States will require 11 to 12 million additional workers, followed by the United Kingdom (5 to 6 million), South Korea, Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic (4 to 5 million each), Germany and Russia (3 to 4 million each), and Japan (2 to 3 million). Other countries, including Canada, Australia, the Gulf states, Taiwan, the........

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