— By Mr. Nikhil Barshikar, Founder and CEO of Imarticus Learning
In 2025, India has reached a pivotal moment in how finance and business are taught. The country is producing large numbers of graduates from reputed colleges, many armed with degrees from prestigious institutions — yet, as per a report by Harvard Business Review, growing evidence suggests most still lack the skills employers demand. As the financial sector undergoes rapid transformation, driven by AI, fintech, global capital flows, digital assets, regulatory change, ESG, and more, business education must evolve from purely theoretical to intensely practical.
Here’s how the landscape looks, and what education must do to prepare students to move from classroom to boardroom.
The Landscape: Growth, Change, and Opportunity
India’s Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) sector is on a steep growth trajectory, projected to add nearly 2.5 lakh permanent jobs by 2030, with hiring growth accelerating from 8.7% in FY 2025-26 to close to 10% by 2030.
What’s particularly striking is the shift in where these opportunities will arise, almost 48% of new BFSI roles are expected to be created in Tier II and Tier III cities, marking a decentralisation of India’s financial job market that was once dominated by metros. At the same time, technology is rewriting the future of work: Generative AI alone is expected to transform 3.8 crore (38 million) jobs in India by 2030, reshaping knowledge-based roles through automation and augmentation.
Together, these trends highlight an urgent and growing demand for finance professionals equipped not just with academic knowledge but with hands-on, technology-driven, and industry-ready skills.
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The Gap: Graduates Without the Right Skills
Despite strong institutions, many graduates are not landing roles that match what they were trained for, especially in finance and business roles where domain-knowledge and applied skills are rapidly changing.
- According to the Economic Survey 2024-25, just 8.25% of graduates are in jobs that align well with their qualifications.
- Over 50% of graduates and 44% of postgraduates are underemployed, in “elementary or semi-skilled” work that does not require their level of academic training.
- Skill gaps extend into BFSI functions specifically: hiring is increasing sharply in roles like fraud, KYC and compliance, digital product managers, credit risk analysts, but many graduates lack those specialised skills.
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What Employers Are Asking For?
Employers in finance today aren’t just looking for graduates who know theory; they’re seeking professionals who can immediately contribute to fast-evolving roles. For instance, AI and machine learning expertise are becoming central in areas like model validation, algorithmic trading, and financial data analytics, where the ability to build, test, and explain models can directly impact investment strategies or risk management. At the same time, the rise of digital assets, blockchain, and regulatory technology is creating demand for talent that can navigate compliance, build secure systems, and adapt to new financial products.
Another critical area is financial crime prevention. With digital transactions exploding, banks and fintech firms need specialists in AML (anti-money laundering), fraud detection, and sanctions compliance. By mid-2025, India had a relatively small but growing FinCrime talent pool of about 25,543 professionals, underscoring the shortage compared to the scale of the challenge.
Equally important, employers want candidates with applied, hands-on experience. This means students who have worked on real-world simulations, live datasets, and case-based projects, not just textbook exercises.
Why Education Must Change: From Day One
For finance and business education to truly bridge the gap, it has to move beyond classroom theory and focus on job readiness from the very first day. That means students working with real data, cases, and technologies like AI or blockchain instead of only memorizing concepts. Learning also becomes richer when practitioners, CXOs, founders, industry leaders, step into the classroom to share current challenges and insights.
Since the finance world is branching into areas like quant, fintech product design, and compliance, students need specialized tracks that let them build expertise in their chosen path. To make this learning practical, immersive experiences such as internships, industry projects, or global exposures are essential, grounding theory in real business practice. Finally, the model must guarantee career support—placements, mentorship, and soft-skill training, so graduates don’t just learn finance, but are able to succeed in it from day one.
What New Model of Finance and Business Education Needs to Deliver?
Real-world readiness — Finance education can no longer stop at theoretical models or classroom assignments. Students need to be trained with authentic financial tools, datasets, and modelling platforms, while also learning how to navigate regulatory and compliance issues, digital payments ecosystems, and the growing role of AI and ML in finance. The goal is to ensure they are not surprised by the workplace, they are already familiar with the tools and challenges they will face.
Learning beyond lectures — Traditional chalk-and-talk methods are insufficient for a sector as dynamic as finance. The future model must integrate case studies, deal-making simulations, mock boardroom exercises, and problem-solving workshops that replicate high-stakes financial decision-making.
Global and grassroots perspective — Finance today operates at multiple levels, from microfinance in rural India to cross-border capital flows shaping global markets. Students should gain both perspectives: how financial inclusion, regulations, and lending work at the grassroots, and how global financial markets, ESG priorities, emerging asset classes, and cross-border investments reshape strategies at the international level.
Specialization and flexibility — With finance roles becoming increasingly diverse, one size no longer fits all. The education model must offer specialization tracks, from investment banking and corporate finance to fintech product management, quantitative finance, risk and compliance, and digital assets. Just as important is flexibility, allowing learners to pivot between tracks as industries evolve and career goals shift.
Career outcome focus — Education should not end with awarding a certificate. The real measure of success lies in whether students step confidently into roles. Strong mentorship networks, internship opportunities, structured placement support, and industry connections are essential to bridge the last mile between classroom learning and boardroom performance.
Continuous updating — Finance is among the fastest-changing sectors, with new technologies and regulations constantly reshaping the rules. A future-focused model must ensure that curricula are dynamic, regularly refreshed, and responsive—integrating the latest in AI, regulatory technology, blockchain, ESG standards, and data privacy frameworks.
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Where India Is Headed?
- By 2030, there is potential for unprecedented growth in skilled finance professionals, driven by startup IPOs, increasing VC funding, consolidation in industries, digital finance adoption, regulatory changes, and globalisation.
- AI and Finance roles are likely to out-earn traditional roles by 50-100%, especially in modelling, algorithmic trading, quantitative finance, fraud analytics, etc.
India stands at a crossroads. On one hand, we have a young, ambitious, well-educated population. On the other hand, rapidly evolving industries that demand more than what traditional education systems are offering.
What’s needed is a new model of finance and business education that redefines how finance is learned, lived, and led. One that starts from day one, is deeply practical, integrates the latest technologies and global trends, bridges academia and industry, and produces graduates who are ready to lead — not just participate — in the boardrooms of today and tomorrow.
