India Ranked Second in Terms of Digital Skills Required for Jobs of the Future

Nitin Konde, Varun Bhardwaj

Jan 18, 2025 — 2 min read

India Ranks Second Globally in Digital Skills for Future Jobs

According to the QS World Future Skills Index, India came in second place for the digital skills needed for the employment of the future. With its headquarters in London, Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) offers advice and insights to students for institutions of higher learning. Nunzio Quacquarelli, the founder and CEO of QS, stated in a post on X that India is ranked fourth in terms of AI and green skills indices and second in terms of digital skills.

PM Applauding the Development

"Our Government has worked on strengthening our youth over the last decade by equipping them with skills that enable them to become self-reliant and create wealth," Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated in response to his post. Additionally, the Indian government has used technology to establish India as a centre for enterprise and innovation. As the nation progresses towards prosperity and youth empowerment, the prime minister went on to say that the QS World Future Skills Index's observations are invaluable. Using four criteria—skill fit, future of work, academic preparedness, and economic transformation—the index evaluated over 190 nations. In terms of digital skills, which fall under the "future of work" criteria, India came in second.

Scaling High on Future of Work Indicator

In the "future of work" indicator, the nation received a score of 99.1 out of 100. The future of work score, according to QS, evaluated the abilities that are primarily stressed in international job postings. Digital, AI, and green competencies were among the competencies. According to QS's report, this score was obtained by using its proprietary skills taxonomy to analyse more than 280 million job ads worldwide. According to the report, more than 9,500 emerging skills were found and compared to traditional skills, giving employers a clear picture of how highly they value future-orientated skills in the global labour market.

Overall Performance of the Country

India, however, came in at number 25 with an overall score of 76.6 out of 100, lagging behind nations like the US, UK, and Canada. It is important to remember that the Indian government is promoting upskilling through initiatives like Digital India, Skill India, and Skill India Digital (SID). SID is a platform that offers job opportunities, entrepreneurship support, and industry-relevant skill development courses. It was launched in 2023. In 2015, Digital India and Skill India were introduced. In order to make India a digital-first economy, the government has also introduced India Stack, a collection of digital technologies. Among other things, it contains DigiLocker, eKYC, the Account Aggregator Framework, and UPI.

India's positioning in the QS World Future Skills Index demonstrates its increasing capacity to train a workforce that is prepared for the future. The country's dynamic economy, strong educational system, and demographic advantage make it a strong competitor in the global labour market, despite ongoing issues in innovation and sustainability.