Let me begin with Zoho Sridhar Vembu’s analogy of a flash flood’s collateral damage on natural water bodies as it recedes. The financial bubble that burst spectacularly at its best during 2008 caused structural damages to the global financial ecosystem resulting in an American crisis that was exported globally. In a related message on X, Vembu explained the process inefficiencies off-shored to software services firms (read India) by large enterprises of the West. Successful global Indian IT software services companies managed western productivity inefficiencies using domestic wage arbitrage. Result: Globally successful software service enterprises (happy about it) and lack of big Indian IT product companies and more importantly polarised growth of computer science and engineering graduates. This worked well for us as a nation but requires alternate policy pathways as nation wants to become a manufacturing hub for the world.
One of the largest challenges that many of the manufacturing enterprises have expressed in their private conversations with me is the lack of talented and skilled workforce. In the case of semiconductor and electronics manufacturing along with related industry vertical like electric mobility, robotics and automation, etc. the demand for talented and skilled workforce at entry and lateral levels for the next 10 years is in the order of over 10 millions every year. Adding this with automotive, capital goods and telecom sectors, the job requirement is going to be an increasing spiral. Are we ready to climb the spiral or get entangled is the million-dollar question?
The Indian Economic Survey of 2024-25 threw interesting facts that are relevant for higher-education policy makers to ponder. A majority of workers with primary education (66.3 per cent) end up in semi-skilled roles, for which they may not be adequately trained and a significant portion of graduates and postgraduates are in semi-skilled and high-competency jobs, meaning they do not get jobs directly aligned with their education. The rise in vocational training (34.7 per cent) among workers suggests that many graduate and postgraduate employees receive skill training after entering the workforce, rather than before. This highlights a gap in the education system, where formal degrees do not provide job-ready skills, requiring additional workplace training. The continued need for post-employment training suggests that skill development initiatives are not efficiently preparing individuals before they enter the workforce.
Let us examine the engineering education trajectory with specific interest in software services. The year 2K and e-commerce created a demand for Computer Science (CS)/Information Technology (IT) professionals that saw an unprecedented growth during the period 1996 to 2005. The after effects of the Dotcom bubble and global financial crisis dented further growth. However, the resurgence of IT industry, thanks to massive infusion of liquidity and IT spending that relied on software efficiency across all sectors, saw an increasing enrolment percentage in IT/CS courses as against traditional engineering disciplines. The post-Covid period further accelerated this demand in emerging technologies with CS and AI programmes hitting and breaking the enrolment roof. Current levels of mindless enrolment in popular courses need calibrated policy making that strikes a balance between traditional and emerging engineering programmes. Lack of such calibration shall fan the flames of popularity which comes with no invitation and leaves with no farewell. Oversubscription to Computer Science and its flashy derivative programmes shall be an overkill on the engineering graduate outcome at a time when India needs a balanced scorecard when it comes to engineering graduates. We need Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, Biotechnology, etc. graduates with optimum inputs on emerging techno-management skills like AI, IoT, Supply Chain, etc.
As India marches ahead with big plans in domestic manufacturing with various PLI schemes in semiconductor, electronic components, automobile, etc. the need for a supportive ecosystem of qualified engineering graduates is imminently essential. Mere skilling will only scratch the surface when manufacturing requires engineering talent with deep insights.
The current slew of reforms and regulations that promote academic flexibility and non-academic glitter should not be a flash flood that causes structural damage to India’s higher education ecosystem and must be seen in the light of preparing graduates for the Workplace of the Future. Are the reforms and regulations of various statutory bodies in this direction? The answer lies in the willingness of statutory bodies and the propensity of universities and higher-education institutions to align their resources compatible with reforms. An empty core (traditional engineering) with a designer wrapper (emerging tech) needs to be replaced with a competent core inside an emerging wrapper so that flash floods don’t wash away core engineering. In short: Engineer the core with emerging wrapper.