Organisations in India believe that there are way too many skill gaps in the labour market while hiring new talent, according to the Future of Jobs 2025 report from the World Economic Forum (WEF).
Among the surveyed companies, 65 per cent said that skill gaps are expected to hinder their growth and transformation going forward.
Around half of the organisations also believe that the organisational culture and resistance to change could pose a significant hurdle to their goals. Forty per cent of the companies also expect that their inability to attract the right talent in the industry would pose a problem.
With employers, on the one hand, saying that they cannot find the right talent and, on the other hand, struggling with skill gaps in the market, it seems like a problem arising from the lack of efficient human resources and hiring processes.
According to many jobseekers on LinkedIn, many HR departments have resorted to “lazy hiring” with the help of AI tools. Many candidates allege that such AI tools used in HR processes focus on whether a CV is machine-friendly and not on whether the candidate is the right fit for the role.
These statements are clearly validated by the latest findings in the WEF jobs report, where companies seem to not be able to attract quality talent.
While Indian companies battle this dichotomy of skills and jobs, they projected technology to take over 34 per cent of all tasks by 2030, up from 22 per cent presently. The human share is expected to drop to 31 per cent from the current 48 per cent.
As Indian companies look to reduce human dependencies in running their organisations by involving large learning models and AI-powered systems, it is quite ironic that they also complain about not being able to attract the right talent, especially in India where there is no dearth of human resources.
Back in 2023, the Mercer Mettl India Graduate Skill Index put the employability of fresh Indian graduates at 45 to 50 per cent. This meant that more than half were not employable. The study also noted a grave mismatch between skills acquired through education and those that employers wanted. India’s unofficial class system for colleges and educational institutes also plays a major factor in employability, with HR at some organisations turning a blind eye to talent unless the candidates are from “tier-1” or “tier-2” institutes.
While employees voluntarily resigning inched down to 10.8 per cent in 2024 from 11 per cent in 2023 according to WTW Salary Budget Planning Report, it is still more than 10 per cent, a significantly high number for the country. In contrast, the average salary increase in 2024 was much lower, at just 9.5 per cent.
As India battles lower salary levels, the search for employable talent, and an allegedly inefficient hiring process on the back of AI, it remains to be seen as to how 2025 will shape up the job market in the country.