The Skills Gap Isn't New
Reading about how major Indian IT firms are increasingly relying on subcontractors to plug critical skills gaps (BusinessLine) didn't surprise me. It feels like a pragmatic, albeit temporary, solution to a problem that has been brewing for years. The rapid evolution of technology means that niche expertise becomes obsolete almost as quickly as it emerges. Companies are in a perpetual race to acquire talent for skills that didn't exist a few years ago. While subcontracting offers a quick fix, it also highlights a deeper, more systemic challenge: how do large organizations cultivate and share specialized knowledge internally?
This situation takes me back to a concept I was developing as far back as 2008. The core idea I want to convey is this — I had brought up this very thought on the topic years ago. I had already predicted this challenge of knowledge fragmentation and had even proposed a solution at the time. With my project, IndiaRecruiter, I conceptualized a “Peer-to-Peer IQ Exchange Program.” The problem then, as it is now, was that no single person or even a single company could possess deep expertise across all domains. A recruiter specializing in Java development might know very little about hiring for a niche marketing role.
My solution was to build a virtual community where recruiters could “donate” interview questions from their areas of expertise and, in return, “borrow” questions from others. It was designed to be a decentralized, collaborative network for sharing highly specialized knowledge. The goal was to build a collective intelligence, a shared asset that would benefit everyone in the community.
Reflecting on it today, I see a clear parallel. The reliance on subcontractors is an admission of the same knowledge gap I identified. However, the solution is fundamentally different. Subcontracting is transactional; it treats expertise as a commodity to be purchased on demand. My proposed exchange, on the other hand, was relational; it aimed to build a resilient ecosystem where knowledge was a shared, cultivated resource. One approach patches the hole from the outside, while the other reinforces the entire structure from within.
While outsourcing is a necessary tool in a flexible economy, an over-reliance on it can prevent an organization from developing its own institutional memory and expertise. We are not just outsourcing tasks; we are outsourcing learning and growth. Are we building agile organizations or just a collection of temporary capabilities? The challenge remains the same, but the path we choose will determine whether we build lasting value or simply rent it for a quarter at a time.
Regards,
Hemen Parekh
Of course, if you wish, you can debate this topic with my Virtual Avatar at : hemenparekh.ai
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