New Delhi, November 9, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu on Monday warned that the traditional model of education leading to stable salaried employment is coming under increasing strain worldwide, arguing that entrepreneurship and self-employment will be crucial as automation and artificial intelligence reshape the job market.
In a post on X, Vembu responded to a discussion on China’s youth employment challenges, saying the country’s experience offered an important lesson for policymakers, including in India.
He noted that young people in China had been encouraged for decades to believe that academic success would lead to secure jobs and a better standard of living than their parents. However, he said this expectation was now breaking down despite China’s economic achievements.
“For decades, young Chinese were promised a simple deal: Study hard. Get a good job. Become richer than your parents. That deal is breaking,” Vembu wrote.
He pointed out that China, despite being the world’s manufacturing hub, having extensive technological capabilities and recording a merchandise trade surplus of $1.2 trillion, was struggling to create enough jobs for its college-educated youth.
“Approximately 70 per cent of all unemployed individuals in the 20-to-24 age group hold university degrees in China,” Vembu noted.
He argued that education and economic systems worldwide continued to prepare young people for regular salaried jobs, even as such opportunities faced growing pressure from automation and AI.
As a way forward, Vembu called for a major expansion of entrepreneurship and self-employment. He said these had historically been important drivers of prosperity in the United States before large industrial corporations and salaried employment became dominant.
“What is the solution? Dramatic gains in entrepreneurship and self-employment,” he stated, adding that India’s policymakers must take note of the changing employment landscape.
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