Back To The Blackboard

India’s halls of ivy need a serious overhaul to prepare graduates for the future of work

- Pankti Mehta Kadakia

First, the good news: The employability of Indian graduates is at an all-time high. But here’s the devil in the detail: That number stands at 45.6 percent, which means that over half of fresh graduates are not fit to be hired.

According to the India Skills Report 2018, conducted by talent assessment firm Wheebox and HR technology solutions company PeopleStrong, overall employability has increased to 45.6 percent from 34 percent over five years. The survey was carried out in association with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Association of Indian Universities (AIU), Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) among others.

The report also shows concern for an important challenge up ahead— to ensure that graduates remain employable for the future of work. “The advent of the digital age and rapid technological disruption have ensured that the shelf life of skills is lower than it ever has been,” Amit Malik, chief people officer at Aviva Life Insurance, writes in the report. “Today, an engineering or MBA degree does not necessarily lead to a job, much less to a stable career. Skill development needs to start at the school level and education needs to be tailored to future needs. There is a need to act, and act fast, lest we P. A lose our demographic advantage.”