HYDERABAD: A majority of jobs in the future would be in the field of artificial intelligence, cyber security, big data, and machine learning, said the speakers at an event organised on the need for skill development among students.
The speakers also discussed the issue of a major disconnect growing between the education system and employability of the students in the last 20 years.
VVSL Subba Rao, Senior Economic Advisor of Ministry of Human Resource Development said, “The need of the hour is to ensure that the higher education sector in the country is not left behind, especially the non-STEM courses.” Identifying unemployment as an issue of national importance, Rao noted that about 50 to 60 lakh graduate students enter the market every year but only 3 to 4 lakh of them get employment opportunities.
Meanwhile, a majority of those employed were from IITs, NITs and other reputed institutions. Rao said that technological education should be introduced as optional/part-time/full-fledged degree courses in a phased manner so that general degree students have the opportunity to take up skill development courses along with their degrees.
He lauded MHRD and NASSCOM’s FutureSkills initiative, and said, “This would create an employable workforce for current and future requirements.”
Speaking about the need for developing skills for getting jobs, Principal Secretary of IT and Industries Jayesh Ranjan said, “2020 has been declared as Year of AI and such initiatives by MHRD and NASSCOM will keep a deployable workforce ready for the industry.
Such skills will enable students to have global mobility” NASSCOM reports indicate that up to 2 million jobs would be created directly in IT-ITES and up to 4 to 6 million additional jobs in other sectors, that would need IT-enabled professionals.