Coursera has released its annual global skills report, which reveals that India has dropped to the 68th position worldwide in terms of overall skills proficiency, a decline of four places. In Asia, India stands at the 19th position. However, the report also highlights that India’s technology proficiency levels have increased from 38% to 46%, resulting in a rise of six spots in the global ranking. Conversely, proficiency in data science has decreased from 38% in 2021 to 26% in 2022, leading to a drop of 12 ranks.
The report is based on data from over 100 million learners across more than 100 countries who have utilized Coursera to acquire new skills over the past year. It analyzes three of the most sought-after skill areas that drive employment in the digital economy: business, technology, and data science. The report indicates that learners from southern states in India perform better than those in northern states across all three domains.
Coursera CEO Jeff Maggioncalda commented, “I am almost positive that people who have acquired skills like machine learning algorithms, applied machine learning, and artificial neural networks do get paid handsomely. And investment management, clearly, there’s a lot of money to be made being an investment manager. And then if you look at the enrollments in computer science, programming languages, and linear algebra algorithms, my sense is that these skills are aligned to where Indian learners think higher compensation is.”
India has 1.7 million campus learners, while Europe has 433,000 campus learners. India has experienced a 40% year-on-year growth.
Regarding technology skills, India has shown strong proficiency in areas such as cloud computing, theoretical computer science, and web development, resulting in an improved global ranking of 56 compared to the previous year’s 66. Cloud computing stands out as India’s strongest technology skill, with a proficiency rate of 74%.
The report also reveals that learners in India are focusing on financial skills. Investment management, blockchain, and risk management are overrepresented skills among Indian learners on Coursera compared to the platform’s overall user base.
In terms of skills proficiency among different states in India, West Bengal ranks first across all three domains. The state has demonstrated the highest level of digital skills proficiency in the country, surpassing Karnataka, which ranks fourth in technology and sixth in data science. Learners in West Bengal have also achieved a perfect 100% proficiency in more than 10 skills across the three domains, including leadership & management, human resources, cloud computing, computer programming, machine learning, and data analysis.
Raghav Gupta, Managing Director, India and APAC, Coursera, emphasized the need for Indian learners to address the critical skills gap, particularly in data science, in order to take advantage of the estimated 28 million new technology jobs that will be created in India by 2025. He stated, “This year’s GSR signals a significant need for Indian learners to bridge the critical skills gap, especially in data science, to ensure this digital potential does not turn into a lost opportunity.”