About 16.2 mn Indian workers need to be upskilled, reskilled in AI: Report

As many as 16.2 million workers need to be upskilled and reskilled in Artificial Intelligence and automation to meet India's skill deficit, says a report.

According to the study conducted by Pearson and commissioned by ServiceNow, Artificial Intelligence (AI) will transform employment landscape, augment digital skill sets and create millions of new tech jobs.

"AI and automation will require 16.2 million workers in India to reskill and upskill while also creating 4.7 million new tech jobs," the report said.

India's digital skill ecosystem is also poised to grow in tandem, with ServiceNow's research revealing that additional application developers (75,000), data analysts (70,000), platform owners (65,000), product owners (65,000), and implementation engineers (55,000) will be needed by 2027, to meet the tech deficit.

"We're working with every industry across the country to showcase best practice use of AI to drive meaningful business change and ensure these changes bring about meaningful, quality and secure careers for people while also enhancing productivity," Kamolika Gupta Peres, Vice President & Managing Director of ServiceNow Indian Sub-Continent, said.

ServiceNow's study predicts that manufacturing will witness the biggest disruption, with 23 per cent of the workforce primed for automation and skill augmentation, followed by agriculture, forestry and fishing (22 per cent), wholesale and retail trade (11.6 per cent), transportation and storage (8 per cent), and construction (7.8 per cent).

ServiceNow is investing in India's skill growth with a series of state and national programs to deliver equitable paths to digital careers. The company has announced more than 13 academic partnerships with India-based organisations in the past year.

In August, ServiceNow announced its partnership with FutureSkills Prime a MeitY NASSCOM digital skilling initiative to build a future-ready workforce and address critical business needs.

ServiceNow is a leading digital workflow company. Digital workflows automate and manage repeatable tasks.