Nearly 1 in 2 firms in India identify AI, digital, data skills as key workforce constraint
New Delhi, May 24
As artificial intelligence unfolds an exciting yet uncertain future at the global level, 45 per cent of organisations in India identify AI, digital, and data skills as their single largest workforce constraint, according to a new report.
Around 54 per cent of organisations report moderate to low urgency on AI investment in the country.
Green and ESG capabilities follow, with 41 per cent reporting a large gap. Only one in 14 organisations qualifies as advanced in ESG talent capability, while 31 per cent remain in the awareness and planning stage, says the 'SHRM India Skill Intelligence Report 2026'.
The learning investment picture makes this harder to fix. Nearly 60 per cent of L&D budgets go toward digital self-paced content and classroom instruction.
On gig workforce models, the hesitation is a trust problem, not a regulation problem. About 53 per cent of adoption barriers relate to skill quality and career continuity. Just 13 per cent cite regulatory complexity, said the report.
India is at a defining moment in its workforce transformation journey. As organisations accelerate investments in AI, digital transformation, and sustainability, the real differentiator will be their ability to build future-ready skills at scale, said Achal Khanna, CEO, SHRM APAC and MENA.
Around the world, leaders are confronting the same challenge: how to prepare people and organisations for work that is being reshaped in real time.
"What stands out in India is the scale of opportunity. With one of the world's youngest workforces and a rapidly evolving digital ecosystem, India is uniquely positioned to set the benchmark for how nations build resilient, future-ready talent," said Johnny C Taylor, Jr., President and CEO, SHRM.
The report found that while awareness of the skills challenge is high, organisational capability to act on it at scale remains critically underdeveloped.
— IANS
Reader Comments
The gig workforce trust issue is very real. I've worked as a freelance data analyst and companies treat you like you're disposable. They want cutting-edge AI skills but won't invest in your development or offer stability. No wonder 53% cite skill quality and career continuity as barriers. Fix the trust, fix the talent pipeline. Simple.
I'm a senior manager at a tech firm and I have to say, 54% of organisations showing low urgency on AI investment is alarming. We're living in a bubble thinking we can't be disrupted. China and the US are miles ahead in AI adoption. India needs to stop treating this as a nice-to-have and start treating it as survival. The 60% L&D budget spent on outdated self-paced modules is a joke.
It's not just about AI—green and ESG skills gap at 41% is equally concerning. We're talking about sustainability, which is critical for India's future. Only 1 in 14 firms advanced in ESG talent? That's pathetic. We've got solar targets, EV push, but no skilled workforce to execute. The report is right—awareness is high but action is missing. Time for corporates to walk the talk 🌱
Interesting read but I think there's a disconnect between what this report says and ground reality. In my company (US-based MNC), we're actively investing in India's talent for AI/ML roles because of the young workforce. The problem isn't skill availability but skill matching—companies want niche expertise (like NLP or computer vision) while most graduates have generic Python skills. Better collaboration between industry and academia would solve this.
R Ravi K