By Arindam Mukherjee, Co-founder & CEO, NextLeap
An evolving method of hiring for labour in India is through a structural reform in the hiring landscape, with the gradual move towards skill and readiness for work as opposed to prior educational standards or qualifications. The latest report on “The Skills Gap of India” has calculated that overall employment was at 56.35%. This reflects a continued growth in the alignment between the requirements of business and education; however, as evidenced by the ManpowerGroup report, there is still a significant percentage of 75% plus of employers struggling to find candidates meeting the skills necessary for the positions available globally.
This shift is pushing companies to focus on practical, demonstrable capabilities. Based on hiring trends and job platform data, here are 10 skills that are actively driving hiring decisions in 2026:
1. Data Analysis & Analytics
The collection of data is an increasingly pivotal factor for making decisions across multiple industries, such as retail and transportation, and continuing to have an even greater role for data; this includes leveraging individuals who are capable of working with data to make sense of it and coming up with meaningful and actionable solutions based on their findings. Job boards show on LinkedIn, job postings focused on data analytics are prevalent, demonstrating a continuing requirement for these types of roles, and candidates with experience in SQL, Excel, and as well as experience developing visualisation tools continue to be in great demand.
2. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Literacy
The pace of AI is continuing to expand as implementation across various sectors is reaching non-traditional functions of business such as marketing, and operations, and even expanding into HR processes. Consequently, understanding large sets of data and their functional possibilities is becoming a baseline expectation. The World Economic Forum has identified machine learning and AI are some of the fastest-growing areas of skill globally and exhibiting an increasing imbalance in supply versus demand across all markets, including India.
3. Cloud Computing & DevOps
Cloud solutions have become an integral part of businesses as they digitise through the use of cloud infrastructure that provides scalability and efficiency. Therefore, strong knowledge of AWS/Azure/DevOps are important skill sets to have irrespective of whether you are in an IT or a non-IT role.
According to insights from NASSCOM’s industry report, there is a significant demand for cloud professionals because companies are continuing to invest in their digital transformation efforts.
4. Product Thinking & Problem Solving
These companies are moving away from hiring people who can simply execute tasks, but instead are looking for individuals who can actively solve the challenges facing the business today. Individuals who possess product thinking, have an understanding of end-users, can prioritise, and understand impact and outcomes will have a distinct advantage when seeking employment. This trend is particularly apparent in startups and product led organisations, where the ability to solve problems across multiple functions is paramount to their continued growth.
5. Digital & Performance Marketing
Given the rising cost of acquiring customers, companies are now focused on how efficiently they market as well as the outcome of their marketing efforts, which has resulted in a greater need for professionals with knowledge of performance marketing and analytics. Strong demand continues to exist for SEO, paid media, and growth marketing roles especially in D2C and tech companies.
6. Communication & Stakeholder Management
As workplaces become increasingly collaborative, communication has become a key professional skill. Consequently, employers are placing a greater emphasis on evaluating candidates based upon their ability to clearly articulate their thoughts and collaborate within cross-functional teams.
This behaviour is most prevalent in positions that require direct interaction with customers, product management, and leadership responsibilities.
7. Sales & Business Development
Generating revenue has become a main focus for business since it is the driver of the continual need for salespeople/business developers across almost every sector. Companies involved in selling products and services are hiring people who will help generate new business; from SaaS companies through to companies in the financial services sector, this is happening everywhere.
Indicators of this range from online job postings showing the majority of companies hiring for revenue-generating roles, right through to an increase in the rate of hiring these revenue-generating roles due to the overall slowdown in hiring across many sectors.
8. Programming & Data Tools (SQL, Python)
Additionally, core technical skills such as SQL and Python continue to be in high demand; not only in technical roles, but are also highly sought after in analytics and operations. These technical skills support automation, data manipulation and process improvement across multiple job functions and sectors, making their need significant.
9. No-Code & Automation Tools
With speed being one of the most critical determinants of a competitive advantage; businesses are now more than ever, utilising no-code/low-code tools to streamline workflow processes. For example, from Zapier to Airtable, companies are using these platforms to automate their processes without the use of dedicated engineering talent and as such increasing the use of these technical skills across multiple roles.
10. Adaptability & Continuous Learning
As technology continues to advance at an increasingly faster pace; an ability to learn and adapt quickly has become a key consideration for hiring managers. Employers are beginning to place as much weight on a candidate’s ability to learn, as they do on technical skills.
Reskilling and upskilling will continue to be necessary given how rapidly job functions continue to change per the World Economic Forum.
The Bigger Shift
A larger trend emerging from current hiring practices shows that demonstrable skills and real-world application are replacing degrees as the primary currency of job seekers in the marketplace.
India’s workforce will become more adaptable to the rapid pace of technological advancements and global economic changes, thus moving focus from completing a degree (courses) to getting hired (career outcomes).
Expert View
“Hiring is increasingly moving toward a skills-first approach. Candidates who can demonstrate real-world application and problem-solving ability are seeing significantly better outcomes in today’s job market,” said a spokesperson from NextLeap.
