A staggering 96% of Indian students (versus 90% of students worldwide) believe that earning a professional certificate will help them stand out to employers and get a job after graduation, according to Coursera survey.

The findings pieced together by the online learning platform which surveyed nearly 5,000 students and employers across 11 countries, revealed 92% of employers in India (versus 88% globally) believe that a professional certification strengthens a candidate’s job application, demonstrating a widespread preference for credentials that demonstrate specific professional skills.

The results, released on Thursday in Coursera’s Higher Education to Employment Survey, reflect the extent to which skills-first credentials are influencing both the university choices made by students and employer hiring decisions.

The study further reveals employers in India place a higher value on professional certificates (85%) when making hiring decisions than their counterparts in Australia, the UK, Germany, and France (71%), and also higher than the global average (72%).

 “Connecting skills-based learning and skills-based hiring can unlock opportunities for students while diversifying and expanding talent pipelines for employers”, said Raghav Gupta, Managing Director for India and APAC, Coursera.

“Higher education institutions in India are enhancing their curricula by incorporating industry micro-credentials, boosting student recruitment and graduate employability. This industry-academia collaboration equips students with job-relevant skills and hands-on experience, giving them a head start as they enter the workforce after graduation,” he added.