Indian graduates exhibit highest employability in AI roles at 48%

Graduates from India have presented an impressive employability rate of 48 per cent in Artificial Intelligene and Machine Learning roles, indicating a significant talent pool capable of meeting the growing demand in this cutting-edge technology, reveals a study.

The  'India’s Graduate Skill Index 2023', published by Mercer  revealed that 45% of all graduates in India demonstrate the readiness to meet the industry’s ever-changing demands.

The study conducted an in-depth evaluation of more than 2,800 specific skills and sub-skills. The performance of candidates was then compared against skill benchmarks, represented by the ‘Skill employability %,’ indicating the percentage

of candidates scoring above the employability level for each specific skill.

 Among the tech skills, while Applied Mathematics skills stands out with an impressive employability rate of 72%, the other skills with high employability potential include Data Science (57%), MySQL (57%) and Oracle SQL (54%). 

Among the sought-after roles, Indian graduates exhibit highest employability in AI/ML roles at 48%. The Backend Development, Data Science, Data Analysis, and QA Automation roles have a similar employability rate of 39%.

Among the non-tech roles, according to the Mercer | Mettl study, the Financial Analyst role shows an employability rate of 45%, closely followed by Human Resources Associate at 44%.

Employability of Indian graduates on top skills in demand

Business Analyst exhibit a similar employability rate of 45%, while the Project Manager roles have an employability rate of 39%.

On the other hand, Sales and Business Development roles present the lowest employability at 37%.

Anticipated job and skill trends that will significantly impact workplaces in the future, according to Mercer

Skills such as Core Java, Structured Query Language (SQL) etc., are expected to decline in the coming years.

Cognitive skills are gaining prominence in the workplace, particularly in areas of complex problem-solving and creative thinking.

Employability of graduates in the emerging job roles such as Backend Developer, Data Scientist, Data Analyst, and QA Automation shows a similar employability range across three tiers of colleges, said the study

This trend suggests that learners from different tiers of colleges have similar opportunities to acquire these skill sets, potentially through self-learning and access to online courses.

"Indian graduates are well-prepared to respond to the opportunity with right skillsets. The job market of the future will be increasingly dynamic, and an open mindset with readiness to upskill and reskill as per the changing demands will act as a key differentiator," said Siddhartha Gupta, Chief Executive Officer, Mercer.

UI/UX developer roles showcase an employability rate of 36%, emphasizing the rising significance of user-centric design and the pivotal role designersplay in crafting visually appealing and intuitive interfaces. 

Software testing roles closely follow with an employability rate of 42%, while front-end developer roles have an employability rate of 40%.