New
Delhi: As India races towards beco As
India aspires to become a $10 trillion economy, strengthening the link between
education and employability has emerged as a national priority. Despite rising
enrolment in higher education, a significant gap persists between academic
learning and the skills demanded by industry, leaving many graduates
inadequately prepared for an increasingly technology-driven and globally
competitive job market.
In
a move aimed at narrowing this gap, Singapore-headquartered SpeakIn has
launched the SpeakIn Asia Institute for Industry Readiness and Employability
(SPIRE) in India. The initiative seeks to bring industry leaders, practitioners
and domain experts into the learning ecosystem, enabling educational
institutions to equip students with practical skills, workplace exposure and
industry-relevant competencies required for the jobs of tomorrow.
The
initiative comes at a time when India is witnessing an unprecedented
transformation driven by artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing,
digital technologies, healthcare innovation, and global supply chains. Industry
experts believe that future employability will increasingly depend not merely
on academic credentials but on exposure to real-world business environments,
practical problem-solving and continuous mentorship.
"Every
young person deserves the opportunity to learn from those who have already
achieved excellence in their chosen field. Talent is universal, but
opportunities for mentorship and industry exposure are often unevenly
distributed," said Deepshikha Anand, Founder and CEO of SpeakIn.
"Whether
a student aspires to become a business leader, entrepreneur, healthcare
professional, engineer, public servant, or innovator, they should be able to
learn directly from people who have successfully walked that path. Through
SPIRE, we aim to make industry wisdom, practical guidance, and meaningful
mentorship accessible to learners across India," she added.
SPIRE’s
programmes include industry-connect sessions with corporate leaders,
employability, and workforce-readiness modules, career guidance, leadership
development, entrepreneurship learning, future-skills training and personalised
coaching through SpeakIn's FindACoach platform. The institution also plans to
prepare Indian youth for international employment opportunities through
specialised global workforce readiness programmes.
The
initiative has already secured two significant public-sector engagements. One
involves an Industry Connect Module for government school students in Delhi,
exposing them to emerging career opportunities and evolving industry trends at
an early stage.
The
second is being developed under a Memorandum of Understanding with the
Government of Telangana through the Telangana Global Workforce Readiness
Initiative, aimed at preparing aspiring overseas professionals for employment
opportunities in countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and South Korea.
SpeakIn has also been appointed Strategic Advisor to Young India Skills
University to help build international academic and industry partnerships.
Education
and employment experts argue that such initiatives could become increasingly
important as India seeks to leverage its demographic dividend. With more than
600 million people below the age of 25, the country possesses one of the
world's youngest populations. However, converting this demographic advantage
into economic productivity will require stronger collaboration between academia
and industry.
