As the world is fighting with the COVID-19, India also joined the fight late last month. The central government announced a 21-day lockdown in the country that is bound to have consequences on every sector of the economy. The careers of this year’s university graduates will be severely affected by the coronavirus outbreak. Students have experienced major learning interruptions in the final part of their studies, and are likely to graduate at the onset of the global recession. We are already in the distress of an economic downturn and, its waves will be strongly felt by young graduates, who are ready to embark on their professional journey. Here are some career changes or impacts of COVID-19 that graduate students will face.

1. Digital learning will be a new way of learning

In this time of coronavirus pandemic, digital learning has emerged out as a feasible option. As cases of coronavirus began to rise in the nation, educational institutes were first to be shut down, due to which students have no guidance and support for their learning process. All the schools and other coaching institutes have now shifted to virtual classroom sessions so that no loss of time and study will happen. The Education Ministry of India is also promoting online education by adding a variety of new courses for free on its online learning portal SWAYAM.

2. Reduction in fees

The complete lockdown in the country and economic chaos has already hurt the income of many families. To alleviate the financial problems of the common man, the government has given several financial reliefs in the form of staggering payments of debts and EMIs and directed landlords to relax the deadline for payment of rent. If this trend goes ahead then, colleges and universities will also either reduce the fees for several courses or eliminate the fee duration due to lockdown.

3. Fewer job opportunities

The lockdown has created a problem for job seekers in the country. Before the lockdown, India’s employment rate was approx 7.78%. Every sector of the economy is impacted by COVID-19 pandemic, businesses are either shut down or operating at low capacity. The unemployment rate will increase to many folds and it is predicted that there will be fewer job opportunities for graduates in the future, but the job market may be improved after recovering from the lockdown.

4. Time to learn new skills

The post-corona world will be difficult to live as the changing economy will also change employment standards. A professional college degree like B.tech or B.com will not be enough to get you into your dream job. To enhance the appeal for potential employers, youngsters will have to focus on gathering additional skills such as effective communication skills or digital marketing skills in addition to academics.

5. Less Remuneration

When the COVID-19 pandemic is over, the job sector will be hit by the global economic downturn. It is expected that not only the rate of unemployment will increase but several jobs will offer 10-20% less remuneration to graduates for the first job.

6. Digital skills will be the need of the hour

We are living in a digital world where your specialized skills and expertise are an important factor in determining whether you are perfect for the job or not. Digital skills like the content creators, search engine optimization, social media marketing, information security, graphic designing, and Content Management systems are some of the different job profiles that will employers search in the coming days in prospects. So use this quarantine period to learn digital marketing skills that are most preferred in your specific job field.

The road to recovery is long but with zeal, enthusiasm, positivity and maintaining social distancing, we can achieve it in less time. If we take more time to overcome the pandemic situation, then recovery goes farther and will take more time to set everything again.