In India, a technical degree is often seen as a ticket to success. A BE, BTech or MCA qualification for millions of students and families is a promise of stability, growth and a future in tech. But that promise is breaking, quietly and at scale.

 

Walk into any engineering college today, and you’ll find students who can recite code but struggle to debug. You’ll meet graduates with solid GPAs who are terrified of interviews.

 

India produces approximately 1.5 million engineering graduates each year. While a majority aim to join the workforce, only around 45% are considered employable by industry benchmarks (source). In March 2025, a Software Development Engineer position at Blinkit in Bengaluru garnered an overwhelming 13,451 applications within just 24 hours, underscoring the intense competition for entry-level IT roles in India's job market (Source).

 

This isn’t just an education problem, it’s an employability crisis which impacts students, academia, industry and government.

Let’s find out more.

The challenge: Industry-academia gap in employability

According to a latest report, employability among Indian youth dropped from 44.3% in 2023 to 42.6% in 2024. That means fewer than half the graduates entering the market are ready to meet industry expectations. This is a worrying trend in a country that positions itself as a global tech hub.

The problem isn’t quantity. It’s quality.

The job market has evolved—but training hasn’t

The employability gap is widening at the same time as AI-driven automation and global market pressures change the IT workforce. While the market has faced significant challenges in recent years, with major tech companies adjusting their workforce to navigate changing economic conditions, there is still a tremendous opportunity for fresh talent. The job market remains dynamic and competitive. Freshers now need more than just a degree to stand out — they need relevant, up-to-date skills.

“Jobs demand familiarity and expertise in disruptive technologies like AR-VR, blockchain, cybersecurity, AI-ML, 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT). However, institutes and colleges are still producing engineers with the same skills that their predecessors had more than a decade ago. As a result, there is a huge mismatch between the demand and supply in terms of a skilled workforce. There is a critical need for more dedicated reskilling and upskilling initiatives aimed at getting the Indian workforce ready for the jobs of tomorrow,” — Zairus Master, CEO, Shine.com (source)

As the job market rapidly evolves, fresh graduates—armed mostly with theoretical knowledge and little practical exposure—struggle to meet industry expectations around productivity and billability from day one. Academic training has not kept pace with the demands of modern roles, creating a growing disconnect between employer needs and early-career capabilities. In response, Companies are increasingly seeking candidates who can adapt to the evolving landscape and fill roles like GET-IT, a dynamic position that offers a promising start to a tech career. But are fresh graduates ready to take on the challenges and opportunities this role presents?

What is a GET-IT role?

The Graduate Engineer Trainee in IT (GET-IT) role is where many young engineers begin their careers. It’s a steppingstone into core areas like system engineering, software development, network operations, and more.

GET roles aren’t limited to IT grads. Non-IT graduates with the right aptitude and training can also qualify, provided they meet the baseline expectations of employers. This makes the opportunity inclusive. However, the competition is steep.

Student gaps vs Recruiter expectations

What most freshers have	What recruiters are looking for
Textbook knowledge, little hands-on practice	Applied coding skills and domain proficiency
No exposure to agile or real-world tech projects	Project-based learning and familiarity with development workflows
Lack of understanding of emerging technologies (AI, cloud, DevOps, etc.)	Conceptual grasp of new-age tech and tools
Poor communication and limited confidence in interviews	Effective communication and self-assured presence
Little to no experience with collaborative work	Teamwork, adaptability and positive attitude
No interview prep or mock sessions	Readiness for assessments, structured interviews, and group discussions
Lack of workplace etiquette or professionalism	Business etiquette, accountability, and cultural fit

Innovative solutions to shape future-ready talent to bridge the academia-industry gap

Academic institutions build the academic base. Governments scale access through policy and job-oriented programs. But the real connective tissue and the bridge between a degree and a job lies with skill providers. They sit at the intersection of education and employability, with a single-minded focus to prepare learners for real-world roles.

Partnering with universities

Leading skill providers collaborate with universities to integrate industry-aligned learning into the academic environment. For universities, this partnership doesn’t replace their curriculum but enhances it, helping future-proof graduates for the job market.

Working with the government

Skill providers also collaborate with government bodies to deliver impactful, placement-linked skilling programs at scale. From coding bootcamps to soft skills workshops for engineering students, they bring market-focused expertise and measurable outcomes to government initiatives.

The role of pedagogy: Building skills that actually matter

Curriculum tells you what to learn. Pedagogy shapes how you learn it, and whether it stays with you when it really counts.

Learning that sticks, skills that stay

Today’s leading skill providers are moving far beyond the lecture model because employers hire people, not resumes. So, people need more than just technical ability. When learning reflects the workplace, transitioning into it becomes easier. That’s why new-aged pedagogy includes:

• Blended: Live sessions for real-time engagement and doubt-solving, live sessions with expert mentors, backed by self-paced content that learners can revisit when needed.
• Hands-on: Real-world simulations and capstone projects and case-based exercises that don’t just test theory but teach application.
• Continuous: With feedback loops and practical drills that help learners spot gaps and fix them.
• Non-technical skills: Focuses on essential non-technical skills like spoken English including particular vocabulary, grammatical structures for workplace situations, application of English skills for handling conversations to build rapport in the workplace and professional writing to ensure learners are ready for dynamic work environments.
• Career readiness training: Includes everything from communication skills, problem solving skills, essential management skills, interview prep skills including mock interviews, resume preparation and much more.
• Credentials that matter: Industry-relevant certifications validate both technical and soft skills, offering proof of readiness and commitment. Certifications tied to job offers signal that the training is not just theoretical but tested and trusted by employers.
• Outcome enabled: The learning journey will be called completed only when it supports the eligible candidates with appropriate placement opportunities. An industry recognized platform that prioritizes skills than degree and recognizes industry-relevant certifications. That can connect the job-ready students with national and international companies across a diverse pool of job openings.

The way forward: Bridging employability with opportunity

As employers raise the bar, and emerging technologies continue to shape job expectations, the need for change in education is a necessity.

What if skill providers, policymakers, institutions and industry came together to create an outcome-driven skilling model? One that goes beyond awareness to actual access. One that prioritises employability training over enrolment.

That’s exactly what the TCS iON Placement Success Programme – Graduate Engineer Trainee in IT (GET-IT) is set out to do.

The TCS iON Placement Success Programme – GET-IT

This is a structured, high-touch 20-week job-readiness programme built to help final-year students and fresh graduates walk into real IT roles with skills, confidence and offers in hand. It is built around the vision of NEP 2020 and is dedicated to equipping students with the right mix of technical know-how, problem-solving skills and creativity to succeed in future jobs.

From hands-on coding in Java, Python and SQL, to real-world use cases in AI and Cloud, to interview prep and communication drills, the programme is designed for one purpose: to place young engineers into entry-level IT roles like System Engineering, Software Development and Network Engineering. It’s also backed by 3600+ corporates on board for placement enablement.

The process is simple. Students will:

1. Take a baseline assessment
2. Immerse in learning
3. Build hands-on skills
4. Earn certification
5. And get hired

From Potential to Placement!

After completing the TCS iON PSP GET IT programme, at least 70% of eligible candidates will receive job offers from companies partnered with TCS iON. To be eligible, candidates must meet the job's requirements and successfully pass the TCS iON PSP exit assessment.

 

Conclusion

Employers seek candidates who are not just certified in a domain but also equipped with professional skills and the confidence to solve real-world problems, communicate effectively and succeed in interviews. The bar is high — and holistic training is the only way to meet it.

Learn more about TCS iON’s Placement Success Programme (TCS iON PSP - GET-IT). Explore how this outcome-driven initiative is preparing job-ready IT graduates for real careers in IT.