SkillsCapital is positioning tech professionals from tier-2 and tier-3 cities as the country's next major global services exports, a senior official of the Delhi-NCR-based tech talent cloud company said on Thursday.

Charu Agarwal, chief talent officer at SkillsCapital, said that non-metro regions are driving the next phase of digital employment, and a growing base of tech consultants from non-metro India is already deployed on short and long-term enterprise projects across Europe, North America, and APAC.

Citing reports, Agarwal said that more than 40% of new tech job applicants originate from tier-2 and tier-3 cities, with hundreds of thousands of digitally skilled professionals already supporting global capability centres.

Agarwal stated that, as per reports, the talent shortage is reaching a critical scale globally, resulting in over $8.5 trillion in lost annual revenue. Global enterprises can reduce talent shortages by more than one-third by tapping 'hidden remote workers' and under-recognised professionals.

SkillsCapital talent cloud reinforces a skills-first, borderless approach to global talent engagement, proving that capability, not geography or alma mater, defines opportunity, Agarwal said, adding that their effort is aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of making India the skill capital of the world.

SkillsCapital's AI-powered talent cloud curates, enriches, and presents professionals' full identities in a multi-dimensional and globally accessible way, positioning tech talent from small cities and towns as the next major global export, Agarwal said. The talent cloud includes a high-quality pool of 24,000 tech consultants, with over half originating from India's tier-2 and tier-3 cities.