Everyone seems to be speaking about synthetic intelligence and the way we should grasp it to be job-ready. As corporations undertake and combine AI to remain aggressive and drive innovation, the calls for on rising expertise proceed to develop. This begs the query: Are Indian graduates geared up with the abilities wanted to thrive in at the moment’s AI-driven workplaces?
The most recent India’s Graduate Ability Index 2025 report by Mercer | Mettl point out that the general employability of Indian graduates has declined barely, dropping from 44.3% in 2023 to 42.6% in 2024. Nonetheless, this lower was primarily as a result of decrease employability in non-technical roles, whereas technical roles have skilled an upward pattern.
Notably, 46% of graduates are actually employable in AI and machine studying positions, showcasing a major enchancment in proficiency in these technical expertise.
The report additionally tasks that India’s AI market will attain $17-22 billion by 2027, rising at a CAGR of 25-35%.
Within the report, Siddhartha Gupta, president of Mercer India, mentions, “Technical proficiency in AI and information analytics is not a distinct segment requirement; it has turn out to be basic throughout varied sectors. Graduates should embrace a mindset of steady studying, equipping themselves with the instruments to navigate this evolving panorama.”
What Does The Indian Graduate Scene Look Like?
A number of components contribute to the decline in employability for non-technical roles, together with a much less structured studying path for non-technical expertise and the fast change in employer expectations.
In the case of technical expertise, UI/UX expertise come a detailed second to AI-ML, with back-end developer expertise taking a backseat (as evident within the infographic above). The report additional reveals that the employability hole between technical and non-technical roles varies throughout school tiers.
Tier 1 schools exhibit the best employability for each forms of roles, whereas tier 2 and tier 3 schools show excessive proficiency in technical roles however lag behind in non-technical expertise.
This disparity underscores the necessity for a extra inclusive method to expertise improvement that caters to the various wants of graduates from completely different academic backgrounds. Nonetheless, the distinction just isn’t large, which implies tier 2 and tier 3 schools have good potential.
Moreover, male graduates have a touch larger employability charge total and in technical roles than their feminine counterparts. Nonetheless, girls graduates exhibit larger employability in sure non-technical roles, similar to digital advertising and human sources.
“About 43.4% of male graduates who apply for jobs are employable, whereas employability is 41.7% for the females,” the report states.
Apparently, 70% of present Indian school college students are wanting ahead to becoming a member of IT corporations. Whereas the IT business noticed a stoop within the variety of graduates employed, business specialists anticipate a turnaround within the close to future.
However what’s the purpose behind this hole?
In an interview with AIM, Ankit Anand, founding associate at Riceberg Ventures, highlighted, “The expertise pool right here is extraordinarily restricted regardless that IITs churn out round 10,000 engineers a 12 months.”
In a report about Indian CS graduates, a developer beforehand informed AIM that regardless of the saturated market, he struggled to discover a job as a result of inadequate expertise. He talked about having to undertake unpaid internships for over a 12 months as a result of universities didn’t train the abilities that the employers demanded.
Therefore, a detailed collaboration between the business and academia is essential to bettering the ability set of Indian graduates.
Thoughts the Hole
The Graduate Ability Index 2025 report paints an elaborate image of the employability panorama for Indian graduates. Whereas the rising proficiency in AI-ML expertise is encouraging, the decline in non-technical expertise and the persistent hole between technical and non-technical roles elevate issues.
Tender expertise are one of many contributing components to making sure higher probabilities within the AI-augmented job world. To organize for the way forward for work, academic establishments, business leaders, and policymakers must work collectively to domesticate a workforce that’s not solely expert but additionally adaptable and resilient.
This focus must be on strengthening the curriculum for technical and non-technical ability improvement, selling a tradition of steady studying and upskilling, monitoring the necessities of in-demand expertise and updating the curriculum accordingly.
Firms may also make a distinction by serving to contemporary graduates upskill rapidly. Sami Atiya from ABB, an industrial robotic provider and producer, shared insights into ABB’s hackathons and coaching applications, together with a latest initiative in India that educated 2,000 staff on AI on the identical day and generated over 200 new AI use instances.
The digitally savvy youth in India have entry to on-line sources, programs, and distance studying supplies to upskill. This might imply higher upskilling alternatives. By addressing these challenges and investing within the improvement of a well-rounded workforce, India can make sure that its graduates will not be simply job-ready however future-ready.
The put up Employability of Indian Graduates Drops in 2024, However AI-ML Abilities Soar to 46% appeared first on Analytics India Journal.
