By Divya Jain
Despite having one of the largest youth populations in the world, plethora of colleges and learning opportunities, most young people do not have the skills that businesses today need. Fewer than 17 percent of Indian graduates are immediately employable. More than 117 million people need to be absorbed into new and more productive jobs. Businesses on the other end are struggling as they have no measurable way of hiring the right people for the right jobs. Around 250 applicants are reviewed for a single job offer.
India has the largest youth population in the world, something we also refer to as ‘demographic dividend’. In a country so vast and filled with potential, it is quite startling to believe that we have unemployable youth. One of the reasons for this, is the skill gap between the CV of the candidate and the JD of the employer. Our youth are becoming graduates, but are they becoming Job Ready?
The growth of AI in the Jobtech sector is positioned to fill the existing gap. AI will metamorphosize the entire Job-tech sector by making it more output driven, accurate and simplified. AI will lead to personalised learning and streamlined processes by helping users understand their interest areas, capabilities and problem areas. With the help of innovations, AI will both work as a mentor and peer for users in their job journey. AI in Job-tech will not only focus on jobs but also on tangible outcome driven learning. Providing the youth with opportunities for lifelong learning will be central to helping them find new career pathways. Here’s how AI is positioned to change the entire Job-tech segment
Skillset Alignment
AI has been globally recognized for simplifying things/problems and the use of AI can simplify the ‘How to land a job’ puzzle for learners. AI based tools and algorithms can scout millions of JDs and then figure out the required skills needed for a specific job role. AI powered algorithms can track all industry specific trends and data and help users assess the current job landscape. With the help of these learnings users can dynamically upskill themselves at the pace at which the job industry is evolving.
Accurate User Assessment
Data shows that recruiters spend up to 23 hours looking over resumes for one successful hire. With AI, employers can reduce hiring timelines, assess candidates’ skillset better and predict their likelihood to succeed in a position. Increasingly, resume scanning is now being done by AI-powered search engines. Another use of AI is to screen through candidate applications and resumes, in order to recommend which candidates recruiters should contact first.
Personalised Learning Journeys
AI can act as a powerful tool to create personalised learning journeys of an individual based on interest, aptitude and progress. Personalising things makes it fun, exciting and relatable for learners, as AI maps the type of content consumed by an individual and recommends similar content/videos to learn from. This can be better understood by an example, just like Netflix maps what type of content is consumed by its viewers and recommends them movies/TV series based on their liking. Likewise AI can make learning addictive by providing the right kind of recommendations and making learning journeys personalised.
AI based Mentoring to improve on focus areas
AI can also help an individual to take mentoring in specific areas that they are lacking based on the detailed analysis of data, patterns and trends. Additionally, AI helps break the ‘Job Journey’ in easy steps and assists in every part by creating a personalised learning trajectory. In essence, AI can help identify the gaps in users’ profiles and suggest areas of improvement.
Job Automation through AI
Increased job automation through AI will also create significant opportunities. Primarily, it will enable the workforce to undertake higher-value tasks. Removal of mundane, repetitive tasks across domains will improve the possibility for employees to take on more strategic roles. This also illustrates how automation will affect not only blue-collar jobs but white-collar occupations as well.
The author is co-founder of Seekho.
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