Deep Dutt, Career and education consultant
For decades, success in India was measured in marks. High percentages meant praise, pride, and opportunities. Parents framed report cards, students chased grades, and employers often looked at scores before anything else. But things are changing. Today, a new idea is taking root, skill matters more than marks.
In today’s fast changing world, employers ask less about where you studied and more about what you can do or how can one add value. A degree is still important, but it’s no longer the only consideration in offering job. What matters now is the ability to think critically, solve problems, work with people as a team, and adapt to change, skills that can’t be reflected in a marksheet alone.
Marks Don’t Always Reflect Real Abilities
Let’s be honest, getting high marks doesn’t always mean you’re ready for the real world. Many students excel in exams but struggle when faced with practical problems, deadlines, or teamwork. And with technology changing so quickly, the knowledge you gain in classrooms can become outdated almost as fast as it is taught.
This makes one thing clear: the ability to learn, unlearn, and relearn is far more valuable than memorising chapters. And that’s where practical experience comes in.
Internships: Seeing Work in Action
Internships are no longer optional, they are essential. Even a short internship gives you a glimpse of what real work life feels like. It teaches you how teams operate, how deadlines matter, and how classroom knowledge applies to real problems.
Internships do more than build skills, they build confidence. They help students figure out if a certain career path truly suits them and create professional networks that can open doors in the future. Many employers now value internship experience even more than marks because it shows readiness and seriousness.
Certifications: Skills You Can Show
Thanks to online courses and platforms, certifications have become a way to prove what you can actually do. Whether it’s digital marketing, coding, design, data analytics, or even hospitality skills, certifications show employers that you have real, job ready expertise.
Unlike traditional degrees, certifications are focused, short-term, and updated regularly. They let learners specialise, reskill, or upskill anytime, giving them an edge in a competitive job market.
Learning by Doing
There’s no substitute for hands on learning. Projects, workshops, apprenticeships, labs, and real-life experiences teach lessons that textbooks cannot. Whether it’s running a small business project, coding an application, drafting notes, organising case files, and summarising facts for senior counsel or managing an event, learning by doing builds problem solving skills, creativity, and confidence.
In hotel management, internships are often the most transformative part of education. Students learn how a hotel actually functions, how guests behave, how problems are solved instantly, and how leadership works on the ground. These experiences build confidence, professionalism, and industry readiness, qualities no written exam can measure.
Mistakes are part of the process. When students learn through experience, they fail, reflect, and improve, skills that prepare them for the unpredictable world beyond college. Employers love such learners because they adapt faster and require less training.
Changing the Way Employers Look
Many leading companies today don’t focus only on degrees. Startups and tech companies, in particular, hire based on ability and attitude. Skills, portfolios, and practical experience matter more than the name of a college or the marks on a sheet.
That doesn’t mean degrees have no value, they’re still a foundation. But what happens on top of that foundation, through internships, certifications, and hands-on learning, matters far more for career growth.
What Students and Institutions Can Do
For students, the takeaway is simple: don’t chase marks alone. Seek internships, participate in workshops, earn certifications, and work on real-world projects. Every experience adds skills that future employers will notice.
For colleges and universities, this means updating curricula, partnering with industries, and creating practical learning opportunities. When education focuses on real skills as much as exams, students are better prepared to succeed.
The Future Belongs to Skill
India has one of the youngest populations in the world. If our youth are equipped with the right skills, they can become innovators, entrepreneurs, and drivers of national growth. Marks can open doors, but skills keep them open.
Today’s young learners need to ask themselves not just, “How much did I score?” but, “What can I do confidently?” In a world where change is constant, the ability to act, create, and adapt will matter far more than any percentage ever could.
Because in the end, in India’s journey towards progress, skills are not just the new degree, they are the new currency of success.
