Are campuses ready to cater to tech industry's demand on specialised talent

Recent findings highlight that most colleges are taking steps to prepare for an AI-driven future. But many campuses lack qualified faculty for effective course delivery

Commentary from leading IT services players following the Q2 FY25 results indicates two big hiring trends: First, hiring is back and players are hitting the campus trail. Two, hiring will be focused on specialised skills even for entry-level candidates.

 

This means that campuses now have to ensure students focus on building specialised skills. More importantly, colleges have to make sure they have courses that support this.

 

A recent research by HirePro, an AI-powered recruitment platform, surveyed over 20,000 students across 350 plus colleges and saw participation of over 200 corporates and 100-plus campus talent recruiters.

 

The survey revealed that more than 63 per cent of colleges have begun taking steps to prepare for an AI-driven future. This includes focusing on curriculum enhancement (40 per cent), collaborating with tech giants for research-based projects and learnings (27 per cent), specialised under graduate (UG) and post-graduate (PG) courses on AI, ML and data science (17 per cent) and creating awareness of the impact of AI on the nature of jobs among other initiatives.

 

AI education: Progress and gaps

 

Most campuses seem to have started taking at least baby steps to equip their students with AI skills. Many have introduced new courses on AI, while some have gone further by setting up completely new departments or even an ‘AI centre’ that deals exclusively with AI subjects, highlighted the survey.

 

However, there is a general lack of workshops, guest lectures, and certification courses in this domain. Rather experts and industry players are now concerned that though AI courses are springing up everywhere, do these institutes have access to trained and experienced faculty?

 

“If you look at the top 100 institutes in this country including the IITs and Tier-I colleges then the answer is, yes. They have access to faculty, a good alumni network. While many smaller and Tier-II colleges have all announced courses, I do not think they have faculty for AI. Rather many still fail to attract good faculty for even computer science course,” said a senior recruitment officer.

 

Academia and industry seek partnerships

 

Hence, it is not surprising to see that the survey also points out that both academia and industry want collaboration. A majority (78 per cent) of corporates are ready to work with institutes by giving guest lectures. And 67 per cent wanted to have workshops. However, academia is more interested in long–term collaborations like setting up of Centre of Excellence (75 per cent).

 

Experts also point that AI is such an evolving technology, the need for industry collaborations will be crucial.

 

“The new age Skills like AI are evolving at a much faster pace. The academic system will not be able to refresh its course content or train the faculty at the same pace. Hence there will always be lag. This can be fulfilled only through a bridge course which will have to be delivered by a finishing school or any course content developed and administered by industry bodies,” said S Pasupathi, COO, HirePro.

 

Skill gaps in AI workforce

 

This approach is crucial, as 63 per cent of corporates surveyed in the report said that they expect candidates to be GenAI-ready during the placement process.

 

A TeamLease report brings out the skill gaps issue very well. The Digital Skills & Salary Primer FY24-25, said that there is a significant shortage of AI and machine learning expertise, challenging businesses as demand for skilled data scientists rises. “Only 2.5 per cent of Indian engineers possess AI skills, and just 5.5 per cent are qualified in basic programming. In response, 86 per cent of Indian businesses are reskilling IT workers,” said the report.