'Next wave of hiring in India will be defined not by degrees, but by demonstrable job readiness'

New Delhi: As the workplace is witnessing rapid technological transformations, the skills and competencies needed for success are also changing and soft skills such as communication and critical thinking are being prioritised across industries, a senior executive of a digital recruitment platform said.

In this changing environment, employers are shifting their focus from traditional academic qualifications to a candidate's practical skills and ability to immediately contribute to a role.

Significant efforts are being made by industry, academia and the students themselves to address these skill gaps. Job seekers are focusing on acquiring soft skills such as communication and critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, and leadership to ensure job readiness.

According to Devashish Sharma, Founding Member and CEO, Taggd, the next wave of hiring in India will be defined not by degrees, but by demonstrable readiness -- skills validated by projects, internships, and data-driven capability assessments.

"Employers, especially larger organisations, are actively looking to ensure job readiness by co-creating skill development programmes and co-designing the curricula with academic institutions," he said.

India's employers are grappling with a significant talent crunch and to bridge the disconnect between academia and industry, companies are building hiring pipelines and have associated with finishing schools, bootcamps, and incorporated apprenticeship programmes.

Experts believe, industry-academia collaboration can equip graduates with the real-world skills they will need to succeed in the workplace.

Citing examples Sharma said the INAE-Infosys Foundation Centre for Engineering Education and Research (INAE-CEEE) at IIT Delhi and the partnership between IIT Hyderabad and Renesas for research, innovation, and homegrown talent development within the semiconductor space are examples of two such industry-academia collaborations.

The government is also focusing on improving the employability of the workforce and have introduced policy interventions like the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) and the Apprenticeship Act.

Enrolments in NAPS were estimated to reach around 9.3 lakh during 2023-24, and the government aims to have 46 lakh apprentices by the end of the current fiscal, Sharma said.

These initiatives are crucial to the growing talent acquisition landscape in India, as they empower more professionals with access to the skills and real-world knowledge that they will need to build successful careers.

"Apprentices receive hands-on training that's specifically aligned with what the industry needs. There's no lengthy adjustment period where new hires are still finding their feet; they arrive ready to contribute," he said.

Essentially, companies are building a pipeline of pre-qualified candidates who already understand their business and culture. Accordingly, the recruitment and onboarding costs drop significantly.

The benefits of apprenticeship programmes are particularly pronounced in automotive, engineering, manufacturing, IT, and even the gig economy.

Moreover, "it has unlocked tremendous possibilities for companies to upskill and reskill their existing workforce through blended, modular approaches that are effective in real-world situations", he said.