India and the Future of Jobs: Insights from the WEF 2025 Report

As India emerges as one of the fastest-growing major economies, the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 delivers timely insights that resonate deeply with its evolving labour market. The WEF report forecasts a net increase of 78 million jobs globally by 2030, with much of this growth expected in technology, data, renewable energy, care, and education sectors already central to India’s development goals. The Indian technology industry aims to achieve $500 billion in revenue by 2030, reflecting its rapid expansion. Importantly for India, the demand for AI and big data specialists is projected to grow by over 60%, while roles in green energy and environmental sustainability are rapidly gaining traction due to the country’s strong climate commitments. At the same time, traditional roles such as clerical and data entry positions—long a staple of India’s service economy—are among those most at risk of displacement. With 39% of core job skills projected to change by 2030, these shifts demand urgent collaboration between employers, job seekers, and policymakers to ensure India’s workforce remains globally competitive and resilient. India must act decisively to equip its workforce, both formal and informal, with the tools to thrive in a digitised, automated, and sustainable global economy. While government action will lay the foundation, employers and workers must take the lead in operationalising change.

Building a Workforce Architecture for 2030

With nearly one million young Indians entering the workforce every month, India faces both a tremendous opportunity and a looming risk. The WEF Future of Jobs Report 2025 warns that without urgent intervention, factors like rapid skill obsolescence, uneven access to reskilling, and accelerating automation could undercut the country’s demographic advantage. For policymakers, the priority must shift from merely generating employment to ensuring that jobs—and workers—are future-ready. A coordinated national strategy that integrates education reform, industry collaboration, and scalable skilling programs is essential to build a resilient workforce by 2030. Below is a list of a few policy recommendations to help effectively prepare people for future jobs:

1. National Reskilling Strategy 2.0 – Expand and refine existing initiatives like Skill India to include a stronger emphasis on digital and green skills, with performance-linked funding for skilling partners.

2. Incentivize Employer-Led Training – Offer tax breaks or subsidies for companies that invest in formal upskilling/reskilling programs for their workforce.

3. Promote Industry-Academia Partnerships – Ensure educational curricula align with the evolving needs of the labour market through joint programs, apprenticeships, internships, and industry-backed certifications.

4. Support Job Mobility – Develop a national digital credentialing system that allows workers to carry verified skills across states, sectors, and even internationally.

5. Monitor Labour Market Trends in Real Time – Establish a dynamic skills observatory that leverages AI and employer data to track emerging roles, skill gaps, and displacement risks. This can offer young professionals the opportunity to match their skills and interests with the demands of the market.

Employers Must Progress from Risk Management to Workforce Reimagination

The data is unambiguous: future-readiness is no longer optional—it’s a core business imperative. According to the WEF Future of Jobs Report 2025, global employers expect to restructure nearly half their workforce to adapt to AI and emerging technologies, and 85% plan to accelerate reskilling initiatives within the next five years. For Indian employers navigating a volatile economic climate, evolving consumer behaviour, and accelerating digital disruption, the report is more than a forecast—it’s a strategic mandate. The challenge now is to shift from short-term talent planning to long-term workforce reimagination, blending human potential with machine intelligence to build resilient, adaptive organisations.

1. Embed Reskilling into Core Strategy – Make upskilling and reskilling a C-suite priority by offering flexible, modular learning pathways in AI, data literacy, green technologies, and soft skills like communication and problem-solving.
2. Redesign Roles Around Technology – Identify which jobs are being augmented or displaced by AI and use that insight to redesign roles with blended human-machine collaboration in mind.
3. Cultivate Soft Skills in Parallel – Creative thinking, empathy, and adaptability are no longer ‘nice to have’—they’re mission-critical. Companies must incorporate these skills into performance metrics and training programs.
4. Enable Green Employment – Invest in sustainable practices and new job roles in compliance, green tech, and carbon accounting to align with India’s net-zero goals.
5. Create Inclusive Hiring Pipelines – Skill-based hiring—where experience and certifications outweigh formal degrees—can help tap into underutilised talent, especially in Tier 2/3 cities.
   

Curiosity and Adaptability are Essential for Job Seekers

Indian job seekers can prepare for the rapidly evolving employment landscape, which will see the automation of routine roles and the rise of technologies like AI, big data, and cybersecurity with agility and flexibility. While over 1 million AI-related positions are expected to open up in India by 2026, success won’t hinge on technical skills alone. Employers are increasingly looking for individuals skilled in creative thinking, adaptability, emotional intelligence, and a commitment to lifelong learning. To remain competitive, Indian professionals must embrace continuous upskilling, explore emerging sectors, and cultivate a flexible mindset that aligns with the dynamic demands of the modern economy. While the path ahead will be non-linear, it promises to be one of immense possibilities.

1. Embrace Lifelong Learning – It will be beneficial to pursue short-term courses in high-demand areas such as AI, data science, cybersecurity, and sustainability. Platforms like SWAYAM, NSDC, and Coursera offer affordable upskilling opportunities which can enable one to understand the intricacies of these new technologies.
2. Develop Hybrid Skillsets –  Subject matter expertise must be coupled with a thorough understanding of business functions as well as interpersonal skills. This will help professionals offer creative and multi-dimensional solutions to business challenges. For instance, a data analyst who can communicate insights effectively has a major edge over one who can merely analyse the data.
3. Prepare for Growth Sectors – The coming years will witness the rise of several emerging sectors such as healthcare, education, green energy, and digital services. Professionals need to match their area of interest with the skills required in these sectors so they are suitably prepared to emerge as the best person for the job or as articulated by Barack Obama, become “one over none”. 
4. Stay Resilient and Adaptable – Career paths are shifting. Be open to portfolio careers, remote-first roles, and gig opportunities that can lead to long-term stability.
5. Get AI-Ready –  Understanding how AI tools work—and how they impact your domain—will help you stay competitive and avoid displacement.

Turning a Global Forecast into a National Strategy

India is not merely a passive recipient of global labor trends—it has the scale and agility to shape them. The Future of Jobs Report 2025 serves as both a warning and a guide. By aligning government vision, employer innovation, individual agency, India can emerge not just future-ready, but future-defining. Whether you are a policymaker in New Delhi, a startup in Bengaluru, a manufacturing firm in Pune, or a jobseeker in Patna, one thing is clear: the future of work is already here. The question is—are we ready?