The COVID 19 pandemic has led to chaos in the world of business, posing a challenge to navigate such a VUCA crisis (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity). Graduate employment in the pandemic world is becoming an increasingly important issue as the Industry expects new skill sets from graduates to revive the sector. To make the situation worse, the lack of placement opportunities plagues the higher education institutes, making the overall scenario appear too bleak. Against the backdrop of the challenges of the pandemic, HEIs are facing tough times in attracting the crop of students at the graduate and postgraduate levels. Instilling a sense of hope and re-building student confidence in education is the top priority of HEIs face during the ongoing pandemic.

As the industry expectations from graduates have evolved over the years, the skills gap between what graduates possess and what Industry expects has become more comprehensive than ever. In the backdrop of such a scenario, the questions that need to be answered by the stakeholders include "What are the challenges Higher Education Institutions face in offering the skill set among the graduates to make them ready for Industry?' and "How can Higher Education Institutions work collectively to bridge such skills?

Several education theories demonstrating how students can benefit from multi-dimensional and creative pedagogies for comprehensive learning, especially during uncertainty, have been suggested to foster employability among graduates. Such pedagogies equip students in navigating the crisis by enhancing their cognitive growth, identifying new perspectives and opportunities, enabling their problem-solving skills and in-process restores the creditability of HEIs. Switching to remote learning systems resulted in the lack of physical interactions with faculty and students, extracurricular activities and lack of participation in competitions essential for overall personality development. As a result, the student placement suffered a significant setback, thereby underpinning the need of embedding VUCA specific courses and skills to upgrade their competencies.

Over the years, several strategies have been suggested by the pedagogy experts that range from incorporating technology-based modules that establishes a framework for technology-driven curriculum development to address the skills gap. Similarly- the need for experiential learning, Innovative Course delivery, Training Collaboration with external agencies, Faculty Development, Education 4.0 paradigm, Project-Based Learning, understanding changing consumer behaviour and a new set of soft skills have been recommended to mitigate the crisis plaguing the higher education sector. The recent addition of soft skills suggested includes being able to work in different patterns (Hybrid mode, Work from home), demonstrate resilience to face challenges, show empathy to colleagues during challenging times, and handle the pressure for performance when organizations set targets. The pandemic has highlighted the need for adaptability to demonstrate cross-functional skills and embrace change as the situation demands. Collectively such skills enhance graduates' effectiveness only but are appreciated by the Industry.

However, academic institutions have to collaborate with the industry to bring some effectiveness in implementing these multi-dimensional pedagogies. Such collaborations are essential for innovation in higher education and industry as well. However, despite its several benefits as reported by OECD, the evidence shows the negligible level of such arrangements between both stakeholders. The communication gap between the two stakeholders is generally bridged by the events organized by academia in which the industry leadership is invited. Such events include conferences, workshops, seminars, guest lectures, and many other such events organized by Higher Educational Institutions provide valuable opportunities to foster such arrangements as they offer face-to-face informal communication opportunities between the two stakeholders. As discussed, the circumstances caused by the Covid-19 pandemic have severely impacted graduate employability.

As such, academic institutions need to look for collaboration with the Industry to adopt a multi-dimensional pedagogical approach considering the gravity of the situation threatening the career prospects of the graduates and weakening the HEIs. Since such collaborations are based on mutual benefits, graduates can gain theoretical and practical exposure and, in turn, Industry benefits by getting quality and well-trained staff. The collaborations can also result in curriculum development based on the industry needs that offer real-world learning experiences and effectively bridge the gap between theory and practice.