AN EXPLORATORY STUDY ON SOFT SKILLS AS AN OBELISK FOR STAKEHOLDERS OF HEI’S IN INDIA TO UPHOLD THE UPCOMING AI INTERVENTIONS IN FUTURE JOBS

We are in the midst the 4th Industrial revolution and are experiencing its impact on the nature of “Future Jobs”. Automation and AI are the buzz words at workplaces. However, research states that the Higher Educational Institutes in India (HEIs), who are producers of the future work-force, are laying more emphasis in skilling the students for Technical competence. The existing pedagogies are inclined towards dissemination of domain specific knowledge and allied skills to the students. In doing so, there is one aspect which is overlooked by majority of the HEIs in India i.e. to prepare the students for FUTURE JOBS, which require more than domain knowledge and skills from its employees. On account of Automation and AI interventions, the future workforce will be seen working alongside machines and if this be so, this workforce should be more skilled and efficient than machines. Machines are and will be capable of handling all the easy jobs, pertaining to the lower order thinking skills, but when it comes to higher order thinking skills via: Decision making, rationalizing, managing emotions, human workforce will have an edge over machines. This paper intends to propose a Future Jobs SKILLS Building Model which will enable faculty members of HEI to be groomed in Soft Skills and who in turn will equip the students with the same.