The Graduate Skills Index 2025 for India was published by Mercer-Mettl

Principal Findings

Overall Employability of Graduates from India: decreased from 44. 3% in 2023 to 42. 6% in 2024 Non-technical skills such as digital marketing and human resources have played a major role. Among technical job roles such as artificial intelligence (AI), etc. Indian graduates have shown the highest employability scores.

Male graduates are more employable (43. 4%) than female graduates (41. 7%) College Employability: Tier 1 university graduates are most employable 50% of Indian graduates demonstrate employability across soft skills like creativity and emotional intelligence

Reasons Why Indian Graduates Are Not as Employable

• Education system flaws: Indian universities prioritize theory over real-world skills.
• Jobs disrupted by AI: Automation is changing jobs and skills will need to keep pace
• Soft Skills Shortage: Workplace skills like critical thinking, teamwork and communication are overlooked in educational programs.

Some of the schemes to improve skill development and employability in India include the Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) Scheme and the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY).

28% say a third of their talent base will need to shift significantly in technical skills in 2025 to be competitiveWomen in Science and Engineering-KIRAN (WISE-KIRAN), Stand Up India and other initiatives for employability of women.