Nagaland widens skills push as government hiring contracts

By Daniel Okafor

Nagaland’s government-service recruitment fell from 845 opportunities in 2024 to 589 in 2025, according to figures Chief Secretary Sentiyanger Imchen cited in Kohima.

Nagaland’s unemployment rate among people aged 15–59 stood at 7.3%, against 3.5% nationally, based on figures Imchen cited at Friday’s one-day consultative seminar.

Imchen attributed the rates to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), March 2026. Unemployment among people aged 15–29 stood at 17.5% in Nagaland, versus 9.9% across India. The account did not specify the PLFS sample size or revision status.

What do these figures mean for graduates?

For individual job seekers, the arithmetic is unforgiving. Recruitment through the Nagaland Staff Selection Board (NSSB) and Nagaland Public Service Commission (NPSC) fell by 256 opportunities, or about 30%, between 2024 and 2025. Imchen said government employment opportunities had become increasingly limited, making alternative career pathways more relevant for graduates who cannot rely on state hiring.

He also cited “Unemployment, Skill and Migration in Nagaland 2025,” which found that 92% of the state’s residents lacked formal vocational or technical education and 78% of workers had no prior work experience. A DIPR report said many university graduates possessed theoretical knowledge but lacked the practical skills needed for employment.

“This is the situation the State is facing today,” Imchen said, calling for a bridge between education and the labour market through emerging disciplines, vocational training and industry-oriented programmes. His central prescription was for Nagaland’s education system to shift toward industry-aligned courses and practical learning, improving job readiness and employment opportunities.

His diagnosis was broader than state hiring: Imchen said rapid technological advances and changing economic demand were transforming the global education system at an unprecedented pace. Nagaland has traditionally placed a high value on education, and Imchen said many parents take loans to educate their children in the hope of securing government jobs.

He urged students and institutions to look beyond conventional academic pathways and public service. For a young graduate, a qualification alone may not offset lower government recruitment and limited practical preparation.

Which fields are gaining ground?

Imchen identified three areas of growth:

• Technology-driven disciplines
• Green and sustainability-related fields
• Interdisciplinary and applied professional courses

Citing the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025, Imchen said labour-market demand by 2030 would increasingly centre on digital technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), automation and sustainability skills. He named AI, machine learning, data analytics, cybersecurity and information security as careers expected to see stronger demand.

He said premier institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Technology, National Institutes of Technology and Indian Institutes of Management were already preparing graduates for high-growth technical fields.

How will courses change?

Nagaland University has proposed adding AI components to postgraduate and doctoral (PhD) programmes across several departments from the 2026–2027 academic session. Imchen welcomed the initiative and urged private universities, colleges and technical institutions in the state to introduce similar courses and develop industry-relevant options.

Imchen said faculty shortages and infrastructure constraints should not prevent institutions from adopting emerging disciplines. He suggested faculty-sharing arrangements, institutional collaborations, industry partnerships and hybrid learning as ways forward. For students, the state report’s 78% finding puts work experience, not only academic credentials, at the centre of job readiness.

Higher and Technical Education Secretary Sarita Yadav said institutions must keep pace with emerging technologies, industry requirements and changing career opportunities. She said the seminar would help them make informed academic choices and improve students’ awareness of future career prospects.

Prof. Dipak Sinha, Pro Vice-Chancellor of Nagaland University’s Medziphema campus, said emerging courses did not necessarily require entirely new programmes. Institutions could update existing curricula to reflect technological and market changes, he said, and AI should cross disciplines rather than remain inside computer science.

The technical sessions covered:

• Green and renewable energy; agriculture and allied sciences
• AI and machine learning; the Internet of Things; cybersecurity; semiconductors
• Data science; medical technologies; emerging pedagogies in arts and commerce

The one-day consultative seminar, “Emerging Trends: Introduction and Realising Potential,” was organised by Nagaland’s Department of Higher and Technical Education. It took place at the conference hall of the Department of Information Technology and Communication in Kohima.

It concluded with remarks and an action plan from the Additional Secretary and Ex-Officio Director of the Higher Education Department. The forward test is concrete: whether the proposed 2026–2027 curriculum work and seminar action plan turn into practical experience and non-government career options for graduates after state recruitment fell from 845 opportunities in 2024 to 589 in 2025.