From Knowledge to Application: How PMI is Reshaping Workforce Readiness

With the advancement of technology, the demand for a tech-savvy workforce has consistently been rising across the industry. Employers have now started to value skilled professionals who can drive new and innovative business models and infrastructure growth and expansion.

In an interaction with Careers360, Amit Goyal, Managing Director, Project Management Institute – South Asia, highlights some of the key challenges as well as opportunities and explores solutions to strengthen industry-aligned skills and prepare students for evolving career opportunities.

1. PMI has traditionally been known globally for project management certifications. How do you see PMI’s role evolving in India today, especially in the context of employability, workforce readiness, and industry transformation?

India is entering a period where infrastructure expansion, digital transformation, AI adoption, and new business models are reshaping the capabilities organisations need from their workforce. Employers increasingly value professionals who can combine functional expertise with the ability to collaborate across teams, navigate ambiguity, manage change and translate strategy into measurable outcomes.

This is where PMI’s role is evolving. Certifications remain an important way of validating professional capability, but the larger opportunity is to strengthen the project workforce and execution ecosystem across academia, industry and the professional community.

PMI’s Global Project Management Talent Gap report indicates that demand for project professionals in South Asia could reach as high as 8.5 million by 2035, with India expected to account for the largest share of this growth.

For India, workforce readiness will increasingly depend on developing professionals who can combine knowledge with practical application, sound judgment, collaboration, and leadership. Building these capabilities early can strengthen employability while helping organisations deliver transformation more effectively.

2. India is producing a large number of graduates every year, yet industries continue to highlight employability concerns. In your view, where does the disconnect between higher education and industry readiness currently exist?

The opportunity is increasingly about moving from knowledge acquisition to knowledge application. Students may graduate with strong academic foundations, but the workplace requires them to solve problems that are rarely structured like an examination question. They must work with incomplete information, collaborate across functions, communicate with different stakeholders, adapt as priorities change and remain accountable for outcomes.

This creates what I would describe as a skills-application gap. As technology changes roles and workplaces more rapidly, universities and industry will need to work even more closely together. Employability will increasingly be shaped not simply by what graduates know, but by how effectively they can apply that knowledge, work with others and create value.

3. In the current ecosystem, execution capability is important. Do you think India’s education system still places disproportionate emphasis on theoretical learning over practical problem-solving and execution skills?

India’s higher education ecosystem has made meaningful progress towards multidisciplinary and application-oriented learning. The next opportunity is to make practical application and execution a more consistent part of the student experience.

This does not mean reducing the importance of theory. Strong conceptual foundations remain essential. What matters is giving students repeated opportunities to apply those concepts to situations involving competing priorities, changing assumptions and multiple possible solutions.

In professional environments, execution involves defining outcomes, breaking complex objectives into achievable steps, managing risks, coordinating stakeholders and adapting as circumstances evolve. These capabilities are best developed through a combination of learning and experience. Greater exposure to live projects, simulations, case-based decision-making and interdisciplinary problem-solving can help students build this confidence before they enter the workforce.

The objective should be to connect knowing with doing, so graduates are better prepared to turn ideas into outcomes.

4. Global Capability Centers (GCCs) in India are rapidly evolving into strategic global hubs. How is this changing the kind of talent and professional capabilities organisations are now seeking?

The evolution of GCCs is one of the clearest examples of how India’s role in the global economy is changing. Many GCCs are moving beyond traditional delivery models and increasingly taking ownership of global products, innovation, digital transformation, AI, analytics and strategic business priorities.

As a result, the talent requirement is changing. Technical depth will continue to matter, but organisations increasingly need professionals who can combine that expertise with business understanding, strategic execution, cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder leadership. They need people who can work across geographies, influence without always having formal authority, and take complex initiatives from concept through delivery.

AI will further accelerate this shift. As technology takes on more routine activities, capabilities such as judgment, communication, adaptability and decision-making will become increasingly important. For professionals, the opportunity is to move from being excellent contributors within a function to becoming individuals who can take ownership of outcomes across increasingly complex global environments.

5. How should universities and higher education institutions redesign curricula to better prepare students for real-world business environments and execution-led careers?

Curriculum design will need to become more closely connected to how work actually happens. Students should have opportunities to work on real business problems, collaborate in multidisciplinary teams, make decisions with incomplete information and understand the consequences of those decisions.

Capstone projects, industry assignments, simulations and experiential learning can make application an integral part of education rather than something students encounter only during an internship.

At the same time, emerging capabilities such as AI and digital fluency should not sit in isolation. They need to be integrated with problem-solving, stakeholder management, communication, leadership and business understanding. Assessment can evolve as well. In addition to testing knowledge, institutions can evaluate how students approach a problem, structure work, collaborate, respond to change and deliver an outcome.

The objective is not to replicate the workplace inside the university. It is to give students meaningful exposure to real-world complexity so that the transition from education to employment becomes smoother.

6. How important do you believe peer learning, mentorship and professional communities will become in shaping the future workforce in India?

They will become increasingly important because learning no longer ends when formal education does. Technology, business models and roles are changing too quickly for professionals to rely only on knowledge acquired at a particular stage of their careers. Continuous learning will increasingly happen through a combination of formal development, workplace experience and interaction with other professionals.

Peer communities are particularly valuable because they allow individuals to learn from how others have approached similar challenges across different industries and environments. Mentorship adds another dimension, helping professionals develop judgment, perspective and confidence when navigating unfamiliar situations.

Professional communities also expose people to ideas beyond their immediate organisation or function. That diversity of experience can be a significant advantage as careers become increasingly multidisciplinary. The future workforce will therefore be shaped not only by what people learn, but also by who they learn with and continue learning from.

7. PMI’s recent partnership with Amity University focuses on strengthening industry-aligned skills and preparing students for evolving career opportunities. How do you see such industry-academia collaborations helping bridge the employability and workforce-readiness gap in India?

No single stakeholder can address workforce readiness independently. Universities bring strong academic foundations, while industry and professional ecosystems bring visibility into how roles, technologies and capability requirements are evolving.

The opportunity is to bring these two worlds closer together.

Our engagement with the RICS School of Built Environment, Amity University Online reflects this approach. Industry-aligned learning and globally recognised professional standards can give students greater exposure to how knowledge is applied in real project environments and what organisations expect from professionals entering the workforce. The institution also offers a PMI GAC-accredited MBA in Construction Project Management.

The real value of these collaborations goes beyond introducing an additional course or credential. They can bring industry perspectives into curricula, create opportunities for practitioner interaction and experiential learning, strengthen mentorship and connect students with professional communities.

If academia and industry can build these pathways early, students can enter the workforce with greater confidence, stronger application skills and a clearer understanding of how their capabilities translate into business outcomes.

Note: The author, Amit Goyal, is the Managing Director, Project Management Institute – South Asia