Multimedia Skills in Industry
Multimedia is one of the fastest growing IT-enabled services in India. The present supply of multimedia professionals is much less than the demand. Some of the industries most in need of skilled multimedia specialists are:
The Mobile Phone Industry
Sales of mobile phones are increasing, the second quarter of 2008 saw a rise of 12% compared to the first (source: cellular news.com). Both high-end and lower end phones are becoming more hi-tech, and an article in Business Week called 2008 the Year of the Multimedia Handset. While there is a multimedia talent crunch, the industry is prospering and there are many openings for multimedia experts.
The Entertainment Industry
Multimedia (special effects and animation) drives a huge part of television, movies, and the edutainment CDs and DVDs industry, and there is a sever shortage of people trained in this field. While there are more than 300 animation companies employing almost 12,000 people in India, and about 3,000 freelancers (source: Prexma consulting), the number of professionals needed by the Indian entertainment industry is expected to be more than 26,000 by 2010.
The Gaming Industry
Animation and multimedia specialists are needed to help create video and computer games for the booming gaming industry. According to the NASSCOM Study on Animation and Gaming Industry in India, the Indian gaming industry is expected to earn more than $3,000,000 by 2009. The report predicted a growth of 25% for the Indian animation industry and 72% for the Indian gaming industry between 2006 and 2010 (source: Prexma consulting).
Computer Industry
Computers sport more multimedia features today than ever before, and professional designers us multimedia application packages today to help create everything from fabric patterns to architectural blueprints. NASSCOM acknowledges that India will need 300,000 multimedia professionals in this business by 2010 (source: Economic Times).
Publishing
Like in the IT sector, outsourcing drives much of the growth of the publishing industry in India. In 2007, India earned around $200 million from this sector, but total revenues all over the world were around $8.1 billion (source: Value Notes Database). Because one growing trend in the publishing industry is the use of multimedia to enhance the reading experience (for example, almost every major newspaper has its e-edition), more of this revenue should come to India as more people here enter the software and multimedia professions.
