'MBA era is over': CEA Nageswaran urges youth to learn skills AI cannot replace

Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran has advised young Indians to focus on trade and professional skills that technology cannot easily replace. He argued that the era when degrees such as computer science and MBA automatically guaranteed an advantage is coming to an end.

Nageswaran said India needs to change its attitude towards vocational professions and give greater respect to skilled trades. "I can honestly share the advice I've been giving both to my own children and also friends' children," he said while speaking to ANI's Smita Prakash.

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Drawing comparisons with countries such as Switzerland, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and China, Nageswaran said these nations place significant value on trade skills, while India has often treated them as less prestigious.

"If you are a welder, a plumber, an electrician, and a carpenter etc. India doesn't consider it a diploma; we call it a diploma. We kind of made it unacceptable, unrespectable, and unfashionable. That needs to change," he said. "These are the areas where, in fact, the technological advance cannot take away your employability. So you should equip yourself with trade skills."

Nageswaran said the advantages once associated with software, computer science, and MBA education were largely a product of globalisation and may no longer offer the same edge in the future. 

"The globalising world gave a certain advantage for your software, computer science, or MBA education, but that era is over. It's about trade skills. It's about soft skills which AI cannot easily replace, where human presence is required," he said.

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To illustrate his point, the CEA recounted a conversation with the son of a friend who had trained in hotel management and was working as a chef but felt discouraged after comparing himself with peers in other professions. "I sat down with him, and I said,' You are actually sitting on a gold mine as a chef. You cannot be replaced by AI," Nageswaran said.

"Many others can be replaced, your friends. So don't be disheartened by the current comparison you are making with your friends. And don't go by what they post on Instagram."

"On Instagram and Facebook, they'll only post good things. They won't post what they are grappling with," the economist added.

Nageswaran said the chef had acquired a skill that technology cannot easily replicate and would likely become even more valuable in the years ahead. "You have learned the skill that cannot be replicated by technology. So you are going to be a most respected professional in the years to come," he said.

The CEA also argued that critics who are pessimistic about India's future often overlook the country's capacity for innovation and creative problem-solving. "What is it that the pessimists and the skeptics are missing about India's future? This (concierge) is the kind of creative solution-finding that they are missing," he said.

Calling for an appreciation of emerging service sectors and niche opportunities, Nageswaran said India's scale and entrepreneurial spirit would continue to generate new forms of employment and economic activity. "This is the kind of innovative economy and innovative solution-finding that skeptics are missing," he added.