New Delhi: Only 42.6 percent of Indian graduates were found employable last year, marking a decline from 44.3 percent in 2023, reveals a recent report by Mercer-Mettl, which attributes the drop primarily to a lack of non-technical skills, as employability in technical roles has seen an increase.
Released on Tuesday, the Mercer Mettl report, India’s Graduate Skill Index 2025, reveals that Delhi ranks highest in employability at 53.4 percent, followed by Himachal Pradesh and Punjab at 51.1 percent.
Under consulting firm Mercer, Mercer Mettl is an online platform that helps businesses assess talent and develop skills. Its report offers a comprehensive analysis of the skill readiness of young India, drawing insights from data collected from more than 2,700 campuses across 31 states and union territories, covering over one million students.
The report highlights that while graduates from Tier 1 colleges demonstrate higher employability in technical and non-technical skills, those from Tier 2 and Tier 3 colleges exhibit comparable proficiency, underscoring the untapped potential of talent from diverse educational backgrounds.
“This year’s report aims to contextualise the shifting requirements of the industry and their impact on graduate employability. It delves deeper into the skills that are becoming increasingly vital in an AI-augmented world. Technical proficiency in AI and data analytics is no longer a niche requirement; it has become fundamental across various sectors,” says Mercer India President Siddhartha Gupta in the report.
“Graduates must embrace a mindset of continuous learning, equipping themselves with the tools to navigate this evolving landscape,” he adds.
Graduates lack non-technical skills, creativity
According to the report, Indian graduates’ employability in non-technical fields such as analysts, human resources, and digital marketing has dropped from 48.3 percent in 2023 to 43.5 percent in 2024.
The report highlights that as companies continue to adjust their skill requirements, expectations for fresh talent are rising rapidly. There is a growing demand for graduates with a diverse combination of technical and non-technical skills, along with soft skills.
“For project management and business analyst roles, the employability stands at 45.1 percent and 44.5 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, HR associate roles have the lowest employability at 39.9%, among other top non-technical job roles in demand. Employability for digital marketing roles, at 41.0 percent, also lags behind compared to other roles,” the report states.
In contrast, employability for technical roles has slightly increased, from 41.3 percent in 2023 to 42 percent in 2024. “Indian graduates have managed to keep pace in AI and MI (Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML)) roles, showcasing the highest employability among technical job roles at 46.1 percent,” the report notes.
“However, Indian graduates show the least employability in data scientist and back-end developer roles, at 39.8 percent,” it adds.
The report further states that 50 percent of Indian graduates demonstrate strong competence in the soft skills necessary for interacting and collaborating with AI and Gen AI. “As automation continues to rise, the importance of soft skills—qualities that machines cannot replicate—becomes even more significant. Indian graduates exhibit high employability in key soft skills, with communication skills at 55.1 percent, critical thinking at 54.6 percent, and leadership skills at 54.2 percent. However, there is still room for improvement in creativity, which currently has an employability rate of 44.3 percent,” it states.
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Gender gap persists in employability
According to the report, male graduates have a marginally higher employability than their female counterparts. While employability among male students is 43.4 percent, it stands at 41.7 percent for female students.
In technical jobs, the employability of male graduates stands at 43.9 percent in 2024 and 41.9 percent for female graduates.
“Male and female graduates are equally employable in AI and ML and data scientist roles. The highest disparity in employability is observed for software testing roles (5.7 percent), followed by QA automation roles (3.7 percent),” the report highlights.
The report emphasises that in non-technical jobs, both female and male graduates are almost at par, with male graduates exhibiting the highest employability rate for financial analyst roles at 45.2 percent, followed by business analyst roles at 44.6 percent. The employability of female graduates for financial analyst and business analyst roles are 41.8 percent and 42.8 percent, respectively.
It further emphasises that female graduates have the highest employability for digital marketing roles (43 percent). “The employability of female graduates is 42 percent for human resources associate roles, which is slightly higher compared to male graduates at 40 percent,” the report adds.
Tier 1 colleges exhibit the highest employability
The report reveals that overall employability for Indian graduates is highest in Tier 1 colleges, at 48.4 percent, followed by Tier 2 colleges, at 46.1 percent, and Tier 3 colleges, at 43.4 percent.
Employability varies across different technical and non-technical roles based on the college tier. For example, AI and ML roles show some of the highest employability rates in Tier 1 colleges, reflecting the growing demand for these technologies.
In contrast, Tier 2 and Tier 3 colleges place a greater emphasis on software testing roles. Additionally, Tier 1 colleges exhibit higher employability across all non-technical roles.
“Tier 3 colleges lag behind in all non-technical roles, with the lowest employability for HR associate positions,” the report states.
However, the report adds that it’s important to note that graduates from Tier 2 and Tier 3 colleges demonstrate equal proficiency in both technical and non-technical roles.
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Regional variations in employability
According to the report, the overall employability in Delhi is 53.4 percent, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab 51.1 percent, Assam 48.2 percent and Telangana 47.6 percent. These are the states with the highest overall employability.
Uttarakhand and Jharkhand also demonstrate strong employability, at 50 percent and 49.6 percent, respectively. Haryana, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh have employability rates ranging from 49.5% to 48.5%.
“There are significant variations in employability across different states. Factors such as the quality of education, availability of job opportunities, and the alignment of skills with industry demands can contribute to these variations,” the report states.
“It is important to note that most top educational institutes are clustered around certain parts or states of India. The young population tends to migrate across states for higher education and better opportunities. However, India’s employment landscape is already experiencing a significant transformation, and Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities are emerging as new talent epicenters,” the report adds.
In terms of technical employability, Delhi leads with the highest rate for technical roles at 52.6 percent. Uttarakhand and Punjab follow closely with employability rates of 50.3 percent and 49.7 percent, respectively.
No southern state appeared in the top 10 for technical employability.
For non-technical roles, Delhi and Himachal Pradesh have the highest employability rates, both at 54.3 percent. Punjab follows with an employability rate of 52.7 percent. Jharkhand and Telangana show strong employability for non-technical roles at 51.5 percent and 51.3 percent, respectively.
Gujarat, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal have employability rates of 49.8 percent, 49.3 percent, and 49.2 percent, respectively.
Andhra Pradesh ranked seventh in non-technical employability, with a rate of 50.3 percent.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
Was social status taken asa factor in these studies. Otherwise it is a useless study.