16.2 million workers must be AI and automation upskilled and reskilled in India by 2027

AI and automation will require 16.2 million full-time employees (FTEs) to be reskilled and upskilled in emerging technologies in India by 2027. New research by ServiceNow and Pearson highlights that, in addition to upskilling and reskilling, 4.7 million tech jobs will potentially be added within the next five years.

Even traditional technology roles, such as computer programmers, will be impacted by the rise of generative AI like text to code, which can reskill and evolve to become flow automation engineers, product owners, implementation engineers, and master architects. Even India’s tech hubs, which have the largest concentration of computer programmers in Karnataka (331,200), Tamil Nadu (323,700), and Telangana (171,300), can gain a significant competitive advantage.

The report also predicts that manufacturing will witness the biggest disruption, with 23% of the workforce primed for automation and skill augmentation, followed by agriculture, forestry, and fishing (22%), wholesale and retail trade (11.6%), transportation and storage (8%), and construction (7.8%).

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

Kamolika Gupta Peres, Vice President and Managing Director, ServiceNow Indian Sub-Continent, says, “India’s decision-makers and industry stalwarts understand the potential of AI. The pace of progress has never been swifter, with businesses driving large-scale transformation across diverse industry sectors that will play a decisive role in India's rise towards a $1 trillion digital economy.”

The digital transformation of India hinges on a future-ready workforce community. As part of the 'SkillIndia Digital' campaign', the government has announced its vision to create a better future for the youth. And according to a recent NASSCOM study, AI and automation have the potential to add up to $500 billion to India’s GDP by 2025.

“The macro environment dictates that businesses’ focus on delivering clear value in the digital economy, and this can be achieved at scale with the right technology to help you grow fast while taking cost out. Building strong digital foundations will also help your people build skills today that will be needed in the future,” adds Gupta Peres.

The study itself uses machine learning to predict how technology will transform the tasks that make up each job and presents an unprecedented chance for Indian workers to reshape and future-proof their careers.

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