India lags in data skills, must focus on building them: Report

The report indicates that Indians have 52% proficiency in machine learning and 54% in mathematical skills. However, there is significant room for improvement in two key skills for digital transformation – data analysis and statistical programming, ranked only at 25% and 15% skills proficiency respectively.

The study draws on performance data since the pandemic’s onset from more than 77 million learners on the platform to benchmark skills proficiency across business, technology, and data science for over 100 countries.

The report reveals that while Indian learners are relatively more adept at digital skills like cloud computing and machine learning, there is a significant skill challenge across the three key domains. Overall, India ranks 67th globally, with 38% proficiency, with mid-rankings globally in each domain, 55th in business and at 66th in both technology and data science. In Asia, India ranks low, placed at 16th position, ahead of countries such as the Philippines and Thailand, but below others like Singapore and Japan.

A report by Amazon Web Services (AWS) estimates that digitally skilled workers represent only 12% of India’s workforce, and the number of employees requiring digital skills is expected to increase nine-fold by 2025. WEF and PwC reveal that national upskilling initiatives could unlock India’s potential to achieve a much faster pace of economic growth and improve employment rate.

“The pace of skills transformation is slower than the pace of digital transformation in India, as is the case in several countries across the world. Learners must invest in both soft and technical skills to prepare for jobs of the future,” said Raghav Gupta, managing director, India and APAC, Coursera.