AI skills: The new employability test

Bengaluru: AI skilling is fast becoming a foundational career capability as organisations embed artificial intelligence across workflows. For India, the opportunity lies in converting its demographic advantage into a workforce that can support technology-led growth. Industry estimates underline the urgency. IBM’s recent study found that only about 30% of employees currently possess the level of AI literacy businesses require, a figure that needs to rise to nearly 57% by 2030.With 65% of India’s skills gap concentrated in AI and emerging technologies, and demand for talent in AI, cybersecurity and digital engineering growing 12-15% quarter-on-quarter, continuous capability building is becoming central to employability, as per workforce solutions provider Adecco.The focus is shifting from specialised technical knowledge to AI fluency across functions. While undergraduate employability has improved from 46.2% in 2022 to over 56% this year, recruiters say the priority is to narrow the gap between theoretical learning and workplace readiness.The programmes being offered reflect this shift. Foundational courses focus on AI literacy, GenAI fluency and prompt engineering, while applied tracks cover AI-assisted analytics, Python, machine learning and cloud AI. Advanced programmes are moving into large language models (LLM) engineering, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), multi-agent frameworks, agentic AI and machine learning operations (MLOps).Karishma Parikh, VP, HR, at Adecco India, said that industry-academia collaboration is becoming critical to building a more job-ready talent pipeline as AI reshapes roles, workflows and skill requirements. “AI certification and AI capability are two different signals. What matters is whether an individual can apply AI to solve problems and improve productivity. The future-ready fresher is not necessarily the one who knows the most AI tools, but one who can learn, adapt and apply technology with judgement,” Parikh said.The strongest programmes combine technical learning with live projects and workplace use cases. To bridge the gap, universities are partnering with IT companies to offer industry-aligned AI courses. IBM has partnered with Christ (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru to launch the IBM Innovation Centre for Artificial Intelligence, focused on collaborative research, internships and hackathons.ICAI hosts a career counselling programme for students at Bengaluru’s Christ CollegeSimilarly, EY India and Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi have partnered to launch AI VIBE (Varsity for Innovation, Business and Economics), a 12-month programme to prepare students for AI-enabled careers. Infosys plans to deepen its engagement with Madhya Pradesh’s academic and technology ecosystem through skilling programmes and institutional partnerships, including collaborations with IIT Indore, IIM Indore and Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya (DAVV).Such collaborations are receiving positive feedback for deeper industry involvement, giving students exposure to real-world applications while allowing employers to help shape capabilities earlier.Siddhesh Naik, Executive Director, Growth Markets & Partner Ecosystem, Technology Sales, IBM India & South Asia, said that AI skilling is critical to ensuring that India’s talent base is equipped not just to use AI, but to build, innovate and apply it responsibly across industry. “As part of our commitment to skill five million learners across India in AI, cybersecurity and quantum computing by 2030, we are expanding access through IBM SkillsBuild and working with the academic ecosystem to create hands-on learning pathways,” Naik said.“The focus is not just on understanding AI, but on using it effectively, responsibly and with sound professional judgement,” said Arti Dua, Partner and National Talent Leader, EY India. Through its ‘AI Varsity’ programme, EY has equipped more than 50,000 employees with AI skills, delivering over two million hours of AI learning. It is also strengthening India’s AI talent ecosystem through initiatives such as the AI Skills Passport with Microsoft and AI VIBE with SRCC.As AI reshapes every aspect of business, HCLTech’s focus is on ensuring that its workforce have the skills to harness its potential. Ramachandran Sundararajan, Chief People Officer, HCLTech, said that they have adopted a structured approach across three cohorts — AI Builders, who develop products and platforms, AI Super Users, who leverage AI to enhance productivity; and Human-in-the-Loop AI Decision Makers, who apply AI in the right context.

Source: Deccan Herald