Engineering discipline that has been a top preference for all stakeholders – students, parents, colleges and employers – is no longer considered a safe choice by many. This is on account of the reduced intake of freshers by the IT industry on account of the impact of AI and the global dynamics.

Hence while the country is still producing around one million computing graduates, the overall intake of the IT industry is just around 250,000 to 300,000 per annum. The big question looming before graduating students is – where are the jobs?

Instead of considering reducing the output of computing graduates in the country, what we need is to find new employment pathways in the AI era. There is a big opportunity to catalyse the digital transformation process on the strength of the talent pool that is available.

Need to conceptualise a 2 to 3 year programme for digital change makers

There is an urgent need to conceptualise a 2 to 3 year programme for digital change makers, much like the Agniveer programme of the Armed Forces, in order to support the key segments that have growth potential.

The MSME segment has so far been unable to take full advantage of digital technologies. It could now be supported for AI adoption and for implementation of CRM systems, data analytics, digital marketing and ecommerce presence.

In order to find a career pathway for computing graduates with the MSME segment, it would require systematic planning of the curriculum, internships with MSMEs partially supported by the government grants and eventual placement with them for a minimum predefined period of time so that it is a win-win proposition for all stakeholders.

Major opportunity with govt bodies

Another major opportunity is with the government and semi government bodies to place with them the computing graduates for a period of time to address the data management and digitization needs. Again, this would not only help the graduates but would dramatically improve citizen services in 2.5 lakh panchayats across the country through automation.

Healthcare is another domain that has an enormous potential for improving the reach and quality of services to the needy. India can take advantage of the young talented workforce for supporting telemedicine systems, electronic medical records, automation of healthcare workflows and patient care systems to name a few.

Apart from the above opportunities to build an experienced and specialized cadre of professionals in the domestic market, the current impetus to support startups and incubation of ventures by graduating freshers should continue.

In addition to the support to be extended for startups, training the youth for being self employed on the strength of their unique skills should also be actively promoted. It would be essential to create industry orientation programmes and skilling pathways for the emerging roles.

The time for renaissance of Indian computing education is here, let’s capitalise on it!

The writer is chairperson, GTT Foundation

Disclaimer: The views expressed are the author’s own and do not reflect the official policy or position of Financial Express.