In India, a growing number of Gen Z graduates are realising that a traditional degree alone is no longer enough to break into IT. As companies move to critically embed AI in their functions, they increasingly feel that even AI certifications alone don’t make them employable anymore.
English literature graduate Anjana R Menon found herself in a similar predicament. She pursued an AI certification course alongside her college curriculum, expecting it would help her bridge the gap between academic learning and industry expectations. “You still need problem-solving skills, communication, and the ability to explain your thinking,” she told AIM.
For her, the combination of formal education, applied skilling, and interview readiness proved decisive in securing a role. She now works at Deloitte as a knowledge service analyst.
Many of India’s estimated 10 million students graduating every year similarly find themselves staring at the wide skills gap between what institutions teach and what the IT companies require. It’s not a new phenomenon, but with enterprises automating core operations using AI tools—and the Indian AI market growing at a CAGR of 25%–35%, according to a BCG and Nasscom report—the skilling issue has compounded.
In response, industry-recognised certification programmes, micro-credentials, and short-term skilling courses are increasingly emerging as a stop-gap measure, offering hands-on exposure to real-world tools and workflows when paired with applied learning and workplace readiness.
When the Curriculum Can’t Keep Up
While universities struggle to keep pace with technological change, typically revising curricula every five to seven years, certification-led skilling programmes are often updated in real-time, based on industry demand.
Prateek Shukla, co-founder and CEO of edtech company Masai School, flagged that this lag has tangible consequences for IT hiring. “While we’re still teaching students to pass exams, employers need people who can ship products,” he noted.
In AI and engineering roles, this gap becomes painfully visible during recruitment. Graduates may be able to explain algorithms or distributed systems in theory, but often struggle with practical tasks.
“A fresh engineering graduate can recite algorithms but can’t debug a real codebase,” Shukla explained. “They know the theory of distributed systems but have never built one. They understand data structures academically but freeze when asked to optimise a live database.”
Venkat Pullela, chief of technology, networking at electronic design company Keysight Technologies, also recognised the talent gap, noting that neither academia nor the industry is prepared for innovation-fuelled demand.
“This is not a problem individuals can solve alone. Industry has limitations, and colleges are not structured to adapt fast enough. It’s a systemic issue,” he told AIM.
As a result, employers increasingly see value in candidates who supplement degrees with certification courses that signal applied capability rather than purely academic knowledge.
What Employers Actually Want?
As AI becomes embedded in workflows, companies increasingly expect entry-level hires to arrive with baseline digital fluency, problem-solving ability and some exposure to real datasets, production environments, and modern development tools. Yet many graduates complete their degrees without ever working on live projects.
According to India’s Graduate Skill Index 2025, published by Mercer, 28% of employers anticipate that a substantial transformation of technical skills will be required for about one-third of the workforce by 2025 to remain competitive. In AI-related roles, the gap is particularly stark. Employers increasingly seek candidates who understand applied machine learning, data pipelines, model deployment, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
Despite the challenges, industry leaders view this moment as an opportunity. Shantanu Rooj, founder and CEO of TeamLease EdTech, argued that India must move away from a qualification-led mindset.
“If we can shift to a capability-led approach where applied learning, apprenticeships, modular skilling and industry-integrated pathways become the norm, we can unlock a workforce that is not just employable, but innovation-ready,” he said.
At TeamLease EdTech, students trained on real projects and given structured industry exposure transition into high-demand roles far more quickly, he noted.
Shukla, meanwhile, outlined three non-negotiable shifts India must make.
First, industry feedback must no longer be optional. “When companies tell us what skills are missing, universities should adapt in months, not years,” he noted.
Second, the lecture-to-exam pipeline must give way to a build-first approach. “Students transform in weeks when they’re forced to solve actual problems for actual users instead of textbook problems.”
Third, he urged society to stop glorifying degrees. “Portfolios, real outcomes, and demonstrated capability matter far more than certificates,” he observed.
Government Action
Initiatives such as the PM Internship Scheme, launched in 2024, look to bridge the employability gap beyond urban centres. The scheme offers experiential learning through a 12-month paid internship, focusing on technical skills, along with soft skills and industry-specific competencies.
At a policy level, the IndiaAI Mission, launched in 2024 with a budget of ₹10,371.92 crore, seeks to build a robust AI ecosystem through compute infrastructure, innovation centres, application development, and data platforms. Its IndiaAI Future Skills programme aims to expand AI education and establish data and AI labs in tier-2,3 cities, directly addressing Gen Z students’ aspirations.
Meanwhile, earlier this month, the Karnataka government’s proposal to cap computer science and allied engineering seats has added urgency to this debate. With nearly one lakh of the state’s 1.53 lakh engineering seats concentrated in computer science-related disciplines, policymakers fear worsening unemployment. Industry leaders, however, argue that seat caps alone will not solve the problem.
Closing India’s AI skills gap needs systemic reform, industry-led curricula, and a shift from degrees to capabilities.
The post Why India’s Gen Z Is Struggling to Break Into IT appeared first on Analytics India Magazine.
