A recent study conducted across 2,500 campuses with a staggering 440,000 learners has shed light on a concerning statistic – only 45% of Indian graduates possess the requisite skills to meet the rapidly evolving demands of the industry. The ‘India’s Graduate Skill Index: 2023’ report revealed the glaring gap between the readiness of candidates to tackle non-technical and technical job roles, emphasizing the pressing need for upskilling and bridging the talent divide. Read more career blogs on College49.
Bengaluru: Unveiling the Employability Conundrum in India’s Graduates
Interestingly, the report highlighted that non-technical skills seemed to be the strength of Indian graduates, with 53% deemed employable for top non-technical positions. In contrast, a mere 44% were found employable for top technical roles, signifying a greater challenge in aligning job readiness with technical expertise.
Delving into specific domains, applied mathematics emerged as a standout, boasting an impressive employability rate of 72%. On the other hand, data science and data analyst roles recorded employability rates of 39%. Remarkably, candidates demonstrated higher employability in on-the-job skills like MS Office, accounting, and numerical ability, exhibiting rates of 61%, 60%, and 57% respectively. This reinforced the prowess of Indian graduates in office software and financial competencies across all college tiers. However, project management fared the lowest, with an employability rate of only 23% among the top non-technical skills in demand.
The report called for a collaborative effort between academia and corporates to address the widening skill gap. Siddhartha Gupta, the chief executive of Mercer | Mettl, stressed the need for educational institutes to adapt and equip students with future-relevant skills while aligning their curricula with industry needs. He emphasized that the industry, too, grappled with changing skill requirements, necessitating timely updates to the academic curriculum.
Surprisingly, the study unveiled no significant disparity in employability based on the tier of college. Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 colleges recorded employability rates of 46%, 44%, and 43% respectively. Moreover, employability for learners in non-technical roles and skills remained higher across all college tiers compared to technical roles. Emerging job roles, such as back-end developer, data scientist, data analyst, and QA automation, displayed consistent employability across college tiers, indicating equal opportunities for learners to acquire these skills, potentially through self-learning and online courses.
However, Tier 1 colleges outshone their counterparts in traditional tech roles, courtesy of tailored curricula, better infrastructure, industry collaborations, and experienced faculty. This supremacy extended to traditional non-technical roles as well, encompassing business analysts, HR associates, financial analysts, project managers, sales, and business development. The cognitive skills exhibited the highest employability rate across Tier 1 institutions, while critical thinking stole the spotlight with an employability rate of 57% in Tier 3 institutions, making graduates from such institutes desirable candidates for specific non-tech roles.
