As job roles evolve in India, the majority of professionals feel daunted by the rapid pace of changing skills, according to a report from LinkedIn.

LinkedIn’s ‘Future of Skills 2019’ report, conducted with ACA Research, found that 82% of professionals in India feel that the skills needed to succeed are changing rapidly and 62% feel daunted by the pace of change.

More than half, or 60%, of the employees in India feel that time is the most significant barrier they face in pursuing their Learning & Development goals, and 37% think it is the cost factor that acts as a hindrance.

At the same time, 46% of Indian organisations feel the lack of engaging learners acts as a barrier to deliver successful Learning and Development programmes, while 44% of organisations admit that adapting training for younger employees is a challenge.

“Certain skills are becoming less in-demand as different skills are needed to succeed, therefore upskilling talent is key for organisations to meet their business goals,” Ruchee Anand, Head of Talent Solutions and Learning Solutions, LinkedIn in India said.

Anand added that paying attention to skills is crucial in recruitment, as previous job titles may not always be an accurate measure of a professional’s capability and adaptability strengths in this new world of work.
According to LinkedIn, the top three skills that are witnessing a rise are robotic process automation, compliance, and continuous integration.

A new global study by professional network LinkedIn found that work-life balance and workload are the biggest drivers of workplace stress.

LinkedIn’s study, which surveyed 2,843 professionals on LinkedIn around the world, found that half of today’s workers are stressed by their job with one in five (17%) finding their work very stressful.

Millennial workers were found to be more concerned than their seniors about having a sense of purpose and belonging in the workplace, but overall they’re the generation that’s least stressed at work. Both Generation X and the Baby Boomer generation proved to be more stressed at work, with a fifth (19%) of Generation X finding work very stressful.

Among the tips recommended by LinkedIn to reduce workplace stress include: setting clear boundaries between work and home life, having open conversations at work with managers and mentors, reaching out to one’s network for new ways to deal with stress, learning to say no at work, and setting achievable daily goals and tasks at work.

E-commerce giant Flipkart ranks at the top of LinkedIn’s fourth edition of Top Companies for in India.

The list celebrates the most sought-after places to work in the country. Flipkart had earlier topped the rankings in 2016 and 2017.

According to LinkedIn, the top companies list is based on feedback from LinkedIn’s more than 54 million users in India as well as “the billions of actions taken by LinkedIn members and looks at four main pillars: interest in the company, engagement with the company’s employees, job demand and employee retention.”

The top three companies were rounded out by Amazon and hospitality company Oyo.

Flipkart also outscored other gig-economy platforms on fairness of working conditions and wages in a recent study by the FairWork Foundation.

LinkedIn recently announced that it is getting into the applicant tracking system (ATS) business and plans to release its Talent Hub ATS for small and midsize companies in 2019.

LinkedIn has launched a global recruitment campaign to offer foreigners unique job experiences in China, reports China.org.cn. The campaign, called the “I’m in China” project, offers unique positions such as kung fu apprentice at the Shaolin Temple, giant panda caretaker, high-speed train maintenance staff, trash collector at Zhangjiajie national forest park, acting dean of Yuelu Academy, beef noodle chef, and others. Registration for these positions are open to LinkedIn’s 520 million overseas members for six months. “These jobs feature popular symbols and elements of Chinese culture and society and will help foreigners to see an open, diverse and inclusive China,” Billy Huang, marketing and public relations director at LinkedIn China said. The country’s economic growth offers abundant opportunities which has led to an increasing number of foreigners arriving to seek career development.

LinkedIn has announced that it has appointed Jian Lu as President of LinkedIn China with immediate effect. Jian will oversee LinkedIn’s business and R&D in China.

Jian Lu will report to Mohak Shroff, Senior Vice President & Global Head of Engineering, LinkedIn.

Prior to joining LinkedIn, Jian was a partner of Hujiang EdTech, an online education platform, and CEO of CCtalk, a subsidiary of Hujiang. He also worked at Apple as well as 360 Video and Shanda Interactive Entertainment.

“Building a massively scalable social platform requires technical know-how, as well as business acumen. Jian has a unique balance of both, coupled with a passion for LinkedIn’s mission and a track record of building great teams,” Mohak Shroff, Senior Vice President & Global Head of Engineering, LinkedIn, said. “I’m very excited to have him leading our efforts in China, to connect every Chinese professional with economic opportunity and help them be more productive and successful.”

Jian Lu will take the reins from Francis Tsang, Head of International Engineering at LinkedIn China, who served as interim president of LinkedIn China for the last ten months.

According to LinkedIn, as of December 2017, LinkedIn China hit 39 million members, eight times the number of users recorded when LinkedIn first entered China in 2014.

China’s emerging first-tier cities have become popular destinations for the inflow of talented professionals, according to LinkedIn.

LinkedIn’s data showed that emerging first-tier cities (first-tier cities are classified as having GDP over USD 300 billion), such as Hangzhou, Chengdu, Suzhou and Xiamen have outperformed Beijing and Shanghai in attracting professionals. This is due to their growth potential and job opportunities, according to LinkedIn.

For jobseekers in these first-tier cities, the Internet sector is the most attractive industry, followed by real estate, automobiles, financial services and education management.

“The employment landscape is in line with the industrial development of these sectors, with emerging industries and those undergoing upgrading posting stronger demand for professionals,” Zhou Zhenyu, a senior LinkedIn data expert, said.

The data from Linkedin also showed that Chinese workers are changing their jobs more frequently than before. The average time spent in one workplace shrank from 34 months in the 2014-2015 period to 22 months in the 2017-2018 period, pointing to a more vibrant employment market.

Germany’s domestic intelligence agency has accused China of using LinkedIn, as well as other social media sites, in order to spy on the government, the New York Times reports. China has denied the accusations. In an investigation, the agency said that more than 10,000 citizens were targeted by Beijing with Chinese agents posing as leaders of think tanks and recruiters as well as offering all-expenses-paid trips to China and meetings with influential clients. A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in China called the investigation “complete hearsay and groundless.” Meanwhile, Hans-Georg Maassen, the president of the German intelligence agency, called the efforts “a broad attempt to infiltrate Parliaments, ministries and administrations.” LinkedIn said it would deactivate the accounts of users that German officials had identified as spies, though it would not say how many. LinkedIn added that was conducting its own investigation.