India's Job Market Transforms: Skills Trump Experience in 2025, AI Drives 2026 Trends

• India's job market in 2025 prioritizes practical skills over traditional qualifications, with companies focusing on what candidates can actually do.
• A major hiring challenge is candidates lacking necessary skills, ranking third after salary expectations and company culture fit.
• Key trending skills for 2025 include Communication, Technical proficiency, Data Analysis, AI/ML, UI/UX Design, and Cybersecurity.
• New-age jobs like AI Engineers, Data Scientists, and Cybersecurity Analysts gained momentum, while routine administrative roles declined due to automation.
• Technology-driven roles in data science, AI/ML, and cloud architecture, along with 'blue-collar tech' workers, will dominate 2026.

Why It Matters: Upskilling in AI, data, and tech is crucial as India's job market shifts to skill-based hiring.