Kochi ranks fourth in youth employability, overtakes Delhi and Hyderabad: Report

KOCHI: Kochi has pulled off a stunning leap in Indias talent map outpacing metro giants Delhi and Hyderabad with a whopping 76.56% employability score, according to the India Skill Report 2026. The report by Education Testing Device (ETS), a global education and talent solutions firm, prepared along with All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), said the coastal city, long known for its culture and cosmopolitan buzz, is now stamping its authority as one of the countrys fastest-rising skill and opportunity hubs. As Global Capability Centres (GCCs) now employing over 2 million professionals and generating USD 46 billion in annual exports spread their wings, the ripple effects are energising Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. Kochi, Coimbatore, Indore once considered secondary markets are fast becoming the new engines of global delivery, it said. As far as the youth employability is concerned, Kerala scored 72.16%, above Delhi at 71.25%. Kerala stood fourth in the rankings; Uttar Pradesh topped the list with 78.64%, followed by Maharashtra (75.42%), Karnataka (73.85%). Keralas Higher Education Minister R Bindu believes this rise is no accident. The steps taken for skill development in our higher education institutions are paying off, she told TNIE . Our new four-year UG programme ensures students pick up real, industry-ready skills while they study. According to the report, Lucknow leads the top-performing cities with a 79.45% score, followed by Pune (78.92%), Bengaluru (77.84%), Kochi (76.56%), and Chandigarh (75.12%). Among the tier-2 cities, Lucknow and Kochi are emergingas strong talent hubs, it said. The report also highlighted the pivotal contribution of the Additional Skill Acquisition Programme (ASAP Kerala) in strengthening Keralas employability profile. ASAP Keralas market-aligned training programmes, supported by structured internships, have significantly boosted youth employability across high-demand sectors, it said. Industry experts echo optimism Kochi is perfectly positioned a big city with a dense web of educational institutions, a booming startup culture, and a strong IT presence, says Sreekumar V, secretary of GTech, a Thiruvananthapuram-based association of IT companies. He pointed to the explosive growth of MuLearn, GTECHs flagship skilling initiative. This year alone, 67,000 students joined MuLearn. Companies now recognise that these students bring raw potential that can be shaped through focused, in-house training. The momentum is unmistakable. Nearly 30% of BFSI hiring in Tier-2 cities is now happening in places like Kochi a trend mirrored in IT and pharma-healthcare as well. Backing this up, a recent Nasscom report on GCCs crowned Kochi the No. 1 Tier-2 hotspot for global centres, highlighting its 8,000+ GCC workforce, robust talent supply, and deepening academia-industry linkages. From once playing catch-up to now setting the pace, Kochi isnt just rising its rewriting the rules of Indias talent race.