India Ranks Second Globally in Future Skills Readiness, Excelling in Digital and AI Competencies

India world's second most prepared job markets for future in-demand skills: QS Skills Index

New Delhi: India has been ranked the second after the US among the world's most prepared job markets for future in-demand skills including in the key areas of Artificial Intelligence, digital and green sectors, according to the QS World Future Skills Index 2025. The first Future Skills Index was released Thursday by London-based Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) which is known for its coveted university rankings. The index has evaluated how well countries are equipped to meet the evolving demands of the international job market by measuring four main points -- Skills Fit, Academic Readiness, Future of Work, and Economic Transformation. "In this new index, India places 25th overall when all four indicators are combined, and is recognised a future skills contender. Additionally, India excels in the Future of Work indicator, securing the world's second-highest score (99.1), trailing the US by less than a point as the overall leader in the index," QS said in a statement. India, alongside Mexico, is identified as "most ready to recruit into digital roles". However, the report also highlights critical areas for improvement within India's higher education system, industry collaboration, and employment markets. Despite the strong performance of Indian universities in QS rankings, the report notes significant opportunities to better equip graduates with the digital, AI, and green skills that employers increasingly demand. "India's outstanding GDP growth in recent years, developing economy, youth population and start-up culture, are all putting the country on the world stage and on a strengthened footpath to success," said Matteo Quacquarelli, QS Vice President Strategy and Analytics. "While other nations are dealing with demographic problems around ageing societies, India's current population offer multiple unique opportunities for further development," he added. India scored low on the Future-Oriented Innovation and Sustainability metric, indicating limited progress in developing forward-looking solutions and implementing sustainable practices. "India's remarkable performance in the QS World Future Skills Index underscores the nation's growing capability to equip its workforce with future-ready skills. The country's dynamic start-up culture, coupled with its youthful population, positions it uniquely to lead in digital, AI, and green sectors," said Ashwin Fernandes, QS Executive Director - AMESA. "However, unlocking India's full potential requires deeper integration between higher education and industry, fostering innovation, and expanding access to tertiary education across diverse regions," he added.

India among most ready-to-recruit markets for in-demand skills: Study

India ranks 25th globally in preparing its job market for future skills like AI, digital, and green technologies, according to the QS World Future Skills Index. The country's strong venture capital funding and dynamic investment ecosystem enhance its readiness for AI integration. However, improvements are needed in higher education, industry collaboration, and sustainability practices.India's job market is one of the world's most ready-to-recruit for the most in-demand future skills, including in artificial intelligence (AI), digital and green technologies, the inaugural QS World Future Skills Index has found. The index, produced by higher education analytics firm QS, evaluates how well countries are equipped to meet the evolving demands of the international job market by measuring four major points: Skills Fit -- how well the education system aligns with industry and employer needs; Academic Readiness -- how well a country is positioned to deliver skills necessary for industries of the future; Future of Work -- readiness of a country's job market to recruit for the most in-demand skills of the future; and Economic Transformation -- how ready a country's economy is to leverage the next wave of skills-led industrial growth. India is placed 25th overall among 190-plus countries when all four indicators are combined, while it bagged the second-highest score (99.1) in the Future of Work indicator, trailing the US. The country's strong ability to attract venture capital funding -- despite global downturns -- reinforces its reputation as having a resilient and dynamic investment ecosystem. The analysis also highlights India's readiness to integrate AI into its workforce, distinguishing it from many other countries that are slower to adopt emerging technologies. However, the report also highlights critical areas for improvement within India's higher education system, industry collaboration and employment markets. Despite the strong performance of Indian universities in QS rankings, the report noted significant opportunities to better equip graduates with the digital, AI and green skills that employers increasingly demand. India scored low on the Future-Oriented Innovation and Sustainability metric (a sub-indicator), indicating limited progress in developing forward-looking solutions and implementing sustainable practices. This suggests challenges in aligning research and industry efforts with emerging global trends, such as green technologies, sustainable infrastructure and long-term environmental strategies. "India's performance in the QS World Future Skills Index underscores the nation's growing capability to equip its workforce with future-ready skills. The country's dynamic startup culture, coupled with its youthful population, positions it uniquely to lead in digital, AI and green sectors," QS executive director - AMESA Ashwin Fernandes said. "However, unlocking India's full potential requires deeper integration between higher education and industry, fostering innovation, and expanding access to tertiary education across diverse regions." "By embracing modular learning pathways, strengthening industry-academia partnerships and investing in sustainability-driven curricula, India can bridge critical skill gaps and drive inclusive economic transformation," he added. Matteo Quacquarelli, QS vice-president strategy and analytics, said: "India's outstanding GDP growth in recent years, developing economy, youth population and startup culture are all putting the country on a strengthened footpath to success. While other nations are dealing with demographic problems around ageing societies, India's current population offers multiple unique opportunities for further development." Globally, the index finds the US to be the most prepared economy, followed by the UK, Germany and Australia in that order.

India Ranks Second In Digital Skills Needed For Jobs Of Tomorrow

Nunzio Quacquarelli, founder and CEO of QS, said that India ranks second in digital skills and fourth in AI and green skills indices India has ranked second for digital skills required for jobs of tomorrow, as per QS World Future Skills Index. Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) is a London headquartered company that provides insights and guidance to students for higher education institutions. In a post on X, Nunzio Quacquarelli, founder and CEO of QS, said that India ranks second in digital skills and fourth in AI and green skills indices. Responding to his post, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said "... Over the last decade, our Government has worked on strengthening our youth by equipping them with skills that enable them to become self-reliant and create wealth. We have also leveraged the power of technology to make India a hub for innovation and enterprise." The prime minister added that the insights from the QS World Future Skills Index are valuable as the country moves forward towards prosperity and youth empowerment. The index analysed more than 190 countries and ranked them on four indicators - skill fit, future of work, academic readiness, and economic transformation. India ranked second in digital skills, which come under the 'future of work' indicator. The country secured a score of 99.1 out of 100 in the 'future of work' indicator. According to QS, the future of work score measured the skills majorly highlighted by global job advertisements. The skills included digital, AI and green competencies. "This score is derived from an analysis of over 280 Mn job postings worldwide, leveraging the QS proprietary skills taxonomy," QS said in its report. The report added that over 9,500 emerging skills were identified and benchmarked against conventional skills, providing a clear indicator of how deeply future-oriented capabilities are being prioritised by employers in the global labour market. However, the overall score of India stood at 76.6 out of 100, with the country standing at 25th position, behind the likes of the US, the UK, Canada, among others. It is pertinent to note that the Indian government is pushing for upskilling with programmes like Skill India Digital (SID), Digital India, Skill India, among others. Launched in 2023, SID is a platform which provides industry relevant skill development courses, job opportunities, and entrepreneurship support. Skill India and Digital India were launched in 2015. The government has also launched India Stack, a set of digital tools for transforming India into a digital-first economy. It includes UPI, eKYC, Account Aggregator Framework, DigiLocker, among others.