Indian enterprises are spending on AI, but workforce skills lag, say Coursera’s top executives

Coursera executives Anthony Salcito and Ashutosh Gupta say Indian enterprises must invest more in workforce skilling to turn AI adoption into measurable productivity gains, particularly as IT services face rapid transformation.

Indian enterprises are investing in artificial intelligence (AI) technologies but risk falling short of expected productivity gains without a corresponding increase in workforce skilling, say Anthony Salcito, general manager of enterprise, and Ashutosh Gupta, managing director for India and Asia Pacific at Coursera.

According to them, companies need to rebalance technology and people investments to translate AI adoption into productivity gains.

Organisations have largely focused on acquiring advanced AI models and tools, but employees often lack the skills to use them efficiently, creating a gap between technology adoption and business outcomes, they said.

“Currently, organisations invest 70% of the budget on tech, buying frontier models, different kinds of technologies, and 20% on people. And that is a big problem. That has to be reversed,” Gupta said while discussing what Indian enterprises must do next to upskill employees in the growing AI era.

The same imbalance is playing out in India, where companies have invested in AI technologies but have not necessarily equipped employees to use them effectively, he said. Organisations are increasingly returning to training providers for help in developing workforce capabilities as they seek to improve the return on investment (ROI) on their technology investments.

The challenge is particularly significant for India's IT services industry, a major contributor to the economy that is facing pressure to adapt its business models and workforce capabilities as AI reshapes how work is delivered.

“Technology is one bit, but we are working with banks. We are working with multiple different industries to really see how we can scale,” Gupta said, describing efforts to support AI adoption across sectors with varying levels of readiness.

Salcito said companies were moving beyond basic AI awareness towards embedding the technology into everyday operations. However, simply introducing tools or offering introductory training may not be enough to deliver meaningful returns.

Organisations need to build broader capabilities that enable employees to solve problems differently and integrate AI into their work, he said.

“Many companies initially introduced AI tools and provided basic training, expecting productivity improvements to follow. Some have since been disappointed with the results and are recognising the need for more comprehensive workforce development,” Salcito said.

The executives maintained that demand for AI training was increasingly focused on practical applications, specialised business functions and automation rather than general familiarity with the technology.

For Indian enterprises, the next phase of AI adoption may therefore depend less on acquiring additional tools and more on developing employees who can deploy them effectively. Without that shift, growing investment in AI risks delivering less productivity improvement than businesses expect.