India’s Chief Economic Adviser, V. Anantha Nageswaran, has urged young people to rethink conventional career paths and focus on skills that technology and artificial intelligence cannot easily replace.
Speaking on an ANI podcast, Nageswaran said the globalisation-driven advantage enjoyed by software, computer science, and MBA education is diminishing. He argued that the future will increasingly belong to trade skills, soft skills, and professions that require human judgement, creativity, empathy, and physical presence.
He highlighted occupations such as welding, plumbing, electrical work, carpentry, caregiving, counselling, hospitality, and culinary arts as areas where demand is expected to remain strong despite advances in AI. According to him, countries such as Switzerland, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and China place far greater respect on vocational and trade-based careers than India currently does.
Nageswaran also stressed that India faces the dual challenge of unemployment and employability, requiring a greater focus on vocational training and skills development. He has previously argued that India needs to create millions of AI-resilient jobs and strengthen collaboration between higher education institutions, ITIs, and polytechnics to build a future-ready workforce.
The remarks come amid growing debates over AI’s impact on white-collar employment and the future relevance of traditional degree-based career pathways in a rapidly changing global economy.
