Shortage of talent in Indian STEM sector due to skill gaps: Indeed data

The shortage of skilled talent in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) sector has increased from 6 percent in January 2014 to 12 percent in January 2018. Data from jobs site Indeed showed that despite 1 million engineering graduates every year, lack of skilled talent has led several STEM roles to remain vacant.

The IT, banking and financial services firms are among the top recruiters in STEM sector. Data from Indeed also showed that among those in the age group of 21 to 25 years, 12 percent are more interested in STEM jobs than any other sector.

According to industry experts and academicians, one of the chief contributors to the talent mismatch is the disparity between college curriculums and industry expectations.

While the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has sanctioned the setting up of over 10,000 institutes across India by the end of this financial year, the issue of skills gap still needs to be addressed.

Home to some of the finest science and engineering institutes in the world, India also has a large and increasingly educated population, taking the number of potential job seekers in the country to one of the highest in the world.

India produced the most number of graduates of any country worldwide with 78 million fresh graduates in 2016 alone, of which 2.6 million were STEM graduates. This puts India in a position to outstrip the US in terms of STEM graduates produced annually, given that it currently leads by a margin of over 2.5 million.

In addition, Indeed said initiatives such as Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship should help serve as a great opportunity to create the right talent pool.

Among the companies, the top job roles these companies offer include software engineer, web developer, business analyst, software architect and SAP consultant.

The top ten companies for those interested in careers in STEM, according to Indeed:

Kumar added that this will not only help meet the rising demand for skilled talent, but also ensure parity between skilling programmes and industry’s requirements.