Can India Lead the Global Workforce of the Future? Insights from the ETHRWorld Annual Conclave 2025ETHRWorld

Time of India

22-07-2025

Demographic dividend, realised or wasted?
From talent supply to skills innovation hub
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Skilling in a multi-generational workforce
Skilling at the speed of change
Building for agility and innovation
The human core of the skills race
The path ahead
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As the global war for critical skills intensifies, the question facing policymakers, companies, and educators is no longer whether they need to transform or not, the question is — how fast? That urgency set the tone for the opening panel at the ETHRWorld's Future Skills Conference 2025, titled 'The Global Skills Race : Who Will Lead the Workforce of the Future?' Held in Mumbai, the panel brought together leading voices from industry and academia to examine what it will take for India to move from a talent-rich nation to a true skills powerhouse.Together, they tackled a fundamental question: Can India truly lead the global workforce of the future?India's young population, expected to reach 900 million working-age individuals by 2030, has long been viewed as its greatest strength. But as Hemalakshmi Raju, CLO, Leader-Diversity & Inclusion, Reliance Industries (Hydrocarbon Business) cautioned, 'It's not just potential, we need to convert potential into possibility. Our success with platforms like UPI shows that we can do it at scale.' She pointed to India's modest ranking in Coursera's Global Skills Report (89th out of 109 countries, and 46th in AI maturity) as evidence that intention must be matched by investment.Naushad Noorani, Group Head - Organization & Talent Development, RPG Group, expressed cautious optimism. 'We've shown we can scale national AI solutions like DigiYatra and DigiLocker. The only thing standing in our way is our own ability to learn, unlearn, and relearn.' He also emphasised the need for stipends and support systems to help young earners stay engaged in formal skilling programmes.For Prasad Dixit, Head-Learning and Talent, Lupin, India's moment is now. 'We are no longer just a talent supplier. The world sees us as a capability and innovation hub,' he said. However, he cautioned that alignment between policy, industry, and education remains critical.Representing academia, Dr Shibani Belwalkar, Professor of HRM and Director of Executive Education at SDA Bocconi Asia Center, Mumbai, offered a critical lens. 'We are skilling fast but are we creating enough meaningful opportunities for those skills to thrive?' She also flagged a major mindset shift in the incoming Gen Z and Gen Alpha workforce. 'They're not looking for traditional careers. They're building portfolios of experiences, what we call flexible variety and flexible stability,' she said, urging employers to redesign roles and assessment metrics accordingly.In an age where skills become obsolete quickly, adaptability has become a non-negotiable leadership trait. 'Skills don't disappear—they mutate,' said Allwyn Dsilva, VP & Global Head-L&D, Future of Work & Business HR, Tata Communications. He described how the company uses AI across its talent lifecycle, from hiring to L&D to internal mobility. Employees can view role options, assess skill gaps, and access personalised learning journeys — all within a unified, AI-powered platform.Cross-sector mobility and role fungibility were also key themes in the discussion. Noorani shared RPG's multi-year plan to map skills across 80% of their roles, with future plans to build individual learning maps and mobility corridors between sectors. 'We're building pathways so someone in EPC can add value in tech, or someone in pharma can collaborate with IT teams,' he shared.For Lupin, Dixit stated that innovation must co-exist with regulatory rigour. 'We're building functional academies that serve both purposes,' he said. 'People in R&D get exposed to AI, and data scientists learn about compliance.' The goal: a cross-trained, innovation-ready workforce.When asked what skill no leader can ignore in 2025, the panel's responses were telling: learning agility, emotional intelligence, authenticity, and compassion. 'AI might isolate us,' said Noorani. 'But human connection will keep us grounded.'Outdated practices were also called out: static annual training plans, man-days as a metric, and chasing participation over outcomes. 'Let's stop pushing people to learn,' Taj noted in closing. 'Let's make them want to.'As Dr Belwalkar aptly put it, 'This isn't a race to lead, it's a race to move forward.' With robust partnerships between industry, academia, and government, and a generational opportunity in hand, India might just have what it takes to lead the global workforce of the future.