India Inc AI hiring favors applied skills: analysis

The resume line says AI engineer. The interview question is getting smaller and harder to fake: where did AI change the work, and how did you know it helped? That gap is where a lot of AI career advice gets expensive. The Economic Times has framed the shift directly, reporting that India Inc is reworking AI hiring to focus more on applied skills. For learners, the counterintuitive lesson is not to chase the broadest AI label. It is to prove that you can apply AI inside a real workflow, with enough detail that another person could understand the before and after. A generic badge may help you learn vocabulary. A credible work sample shows judgment.

The label is getting weaker signal

The Economic Times report matters because its framing moves the screen from identity to evidence: not who can claim an AI title, but who can show applied skill. Firstpost’s Vantage coverage of FY27 hiring trends points in the same direction, describing a shift toward precision hiring, AI literacy, and specialised skills. That is a different market from one where adding AI to a headline was enough to get attention. The World Economic Forum adds the demand side. It reported that two thirds of companies operating in India expect to tap more diverse talent pools to fill emerging roles, far above the global average of 47%. The same WEF analysis says companies are cultivating needed skills through training, removing degree requirements, and offering apprenticeships. That does not mean degrees have stopped mattering. It means the shortcut is weaker. If a company is widening the funnel, it still needs a way to sort candidates, and applied proof becomes the cleaner signal.

What hiring managers can actually test Firstpost’s Vantage summary names

AI literacy as a new industry standard, alongside precision hiring and specialised skills. Literacy is not the same as claiming fluency in every model, framework, or agent tool. In an interview, it usually becomes practical fast: what problem did you choose, what inputs did you use, where did a human review the output, and what changed in the workflow? This is where title sprawl hurts candidates. AI engineer on a resume may sound impressive, but unless the job post is clear, the phrase can hide more than it reveals. A stronger portfolio item is narrower: a workflow note, a small demo, a before and after process map, or a written evaluation of where the tool failed. The point is not theater. The point is giving a screener something concrete to believe.

Certificates need to earn their slot

The WEF analysis says companies in India are taking a more active role in cultivating skills through training, degree requirement changes, and apprenticeships. That should make learners more selective, not less. If employers are already trying to build skill pipelines, a certificate has to do more than decorate a profile. A useful AI certificate should leave you with an artifact you can explain. It should force choices about data, privacy, review, handoff, and measurement. If the program mostly teaches buzzwords around GenAI or automation, compare it with free material before paying. A good learning path ends with proof of work; a weak one ends with a logo and a vague claim.

The career lesson at 25 and 45

The Economic Times shift toward applied skills lands differently depending on where you are in your career. At 25, you may be able to build a portfolio sprint around one clear workflow and use it to compensate for a thinner work history. At 45, the better move may be attaching AI proof to domain credibility you already have, because your advantage is knowing where the work breaks. Firstpost’s Vantage coverage connects the market to layoffs, precision hiring, AI literacy, and specialised skills. That combination is not a reason to panic. It is a reason to be specific. The next useful signal to watch is whether job posts in India become clearer about the workflow behind the AI label, and whether interviews reward candidates who can explain tradeoffs instead of reciting tool names. If you are choosing what to build next, build the thing that makes your judgment visible.