Navigating Digital Transformation in Talent Acquisition: Impact of AI Screening Tools on Engineering Freshers' Entry into Industry 5.0 Workplaces A Case Study of Nagpur, India

This research paper probes the ambiguous effects of AI-based recruitment to Industry 5.0, a new industrial paradigm, where on the one hand algorithmic screening designed for efficiency is the norm, while on the other hand there is a strong demand for human qualities such as creativity, adaptability, and ethical reasoning. The authors have employed a sequential mixed-methods approach to their study combining survey data of 250 engineering fresh graduates with in-depth interviews with 15 HR professionals and a document analysis of job descriptions for an emerging market in a metropolitan area. The quantitative data depict anxieties, feelings of obscurity, and the notion of being out of alignment with the required skills among freshers entering AI-driven recruitment mechanisms. On the other hand, qualitative data reveal emotional, psychological, and infrastructural hurdles in recruitment by algorithms. The research paper views the digital skills gap in a new way, essentially it is more of a challenge of figuring out how to handle AI-driven evaluative systems rather than a lack of technical skills. Theoretically, the study results show that Industry 5.0 and human capital theories could be extended by revealing the contradictions between the rationalities of automation and the human-centric workforce development. In practice, the paper offers a Human-in-the-Loop recruitment model as a way to harmonize AI-enabled talent acquisition's efficiency, fairness, and ethical accountability.