Two of the most sought-after talents for Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) employment in Indian IT organizations are machine learning and Python. Analysts noted that the trend demonstrates how crucial these abilities are becoming to the creation of sophisticated AI frameworks and solutions.
The entire IT sector is slowing down, in contrast to these hiring patterns. A general decrease in recruiting by IT companies is the result of sluggish demand. However, hiring is still focused on specialized positions in Gen AI and AI.
According to employment platform Indeed, “machine learning” is mentioned in almost 42% of Gen AI positions in India, and “Python” is requested in 40% of them as the most sought-after expertise for AI jobs. Professionals with experience in machine learning, data science, and cloud engineering are in high demand from organizations like IBM, Coforge, L&T Technology Services, and Happiest Minds.
Aside from AI core skills and communication skills, other talents that are in demand are natural language processing accounting (19%), TensorFlow (19%), and data science (17%).
To put things in perspective, Nasscom and BCG predict that the AI market in India would develop at a compound annual growth rate of 25 to 35 percent, reaching $17 billion by 2027. This indicates that the business is primed for exponential expansion.
Companies consider two factors when determining the years of experience required of individuals who are best suited for such talents. First, technical expertise in the field of artificial intelligence; second, experts’ capacity to integrate this expertise into a business or industry in order to extract real value.
Lakshmi Mittra, the head of Clover Infotech’s academic arm, an IT business that provides IT professionals with the requisite training and practical exposure for AI positions, expressed her belief that people with a minimum of five to six years of experience in functional and technical roles are well-positioned.
Companies’ playbook
As the head of IBM India’s human resources department, Thirukkumaran Nagarajan notes that demand for AI-related positions is rising dramatically, especially in the fields of machine learning and data architecture, which are the cornerstones of the technology.
The need for professionals who can work in both development and implementation to create AI systems that are accountable, transparent, fair, and explainable as part of responsible AI is driving one of the growth areas in the AI software industry, according to Nagarajan, who spoke with Moneycontrol.
Experience Designers, Agile Coaches, Design Thinking, Automation Architects, Transformation Specialists, and Prompt Engineers are a few more positions in these fields for which IBM is seeking.
Depending on the roles they perform, they think everyone should have a particular level of expertise or foundational abilities in AI, regardless of age or years of experience, he continued.
Considering the rising demand for premium engineering services, the engineering services provider L&T Technology Services plans to hire more than 1,000 engineers in the upcoming fiscal year. The company’s CEO and Managing Director, Amit Chadha, told in June that one area of concentration is hiring AI architects, especially with the enlarged scope of Gen AI, which spans a larger range of applications in sectors including Mobility, Hi-Tech, and Sustainability.
More than 3,000 engineers have already received training from the Vadodara-based company on artificial intelligence (AI) tools and cloud-native software platforms like NVIDIA AI Enterprise and Amazon Web Services (AWS).
Happiest Minds Technologies is now hiring for a variety of positions, including Gen AI leaders, Cloud Architects, Technical Project Managers, Data Scientists, and .Net Azure engineers.
Experts claimed that there is a great need for people with experience in creating and implementing AI solutions, analyzing massive datasets, and creating intelligent systems due to the growth of AI and the growing use of data-driven technologies.
Prompt Engineers
For example, Coforge is now hiring for prompt engineers, AI scientists, core generation AI engineers, and other important AI roles. Companies are also upskilling Prompt Engineers to handle software development and testing jobs, utilizing their in-demand talents.
“We still see a lot of interest in our traditional offerings, but most of our new and existing engagements now require AI resources,” says Sudarshan Seshadri, Senior Vice-President of Data & AI at Coforge.
Professional expertise is highly regarded, according to experts, and domain knowledge is still a crucial component that AI is unable to offer at this time.
For entry-level roles, employers often seek applicants with a solid academic background as well as appropriate project or internship experience. According to Sachin Panicker, Chief AI Officer at Fulcrum Digital, “companies often prefer candidates with 3-7 years of practical experience in developing and deploying AI solutions, working with large datasets, and using relevant tools and frameworks” for mid-level and senior roles.
Results for the business process outsourcing and business process management (BPO/BPM) sector are already apparent, even if IT companies are still releasing production-grade Gen AI products.
WNS Global has observed a 25–40% rise in productivity across several business units and a 30–40% improvement in customer experience since implementing the Gen AI framework. The speed and precision of Gen AI enable quicker processing and better decision-making, which leads to these efficiencies.
According to Sanjay Jain, Chief Business Transformation Officer of WNS, “they have advanced their offerings by merging Gen AI with proprietary AI/ML models tailored to industry-specific challenges.” The business has developed solutions for the heavily regulated insurance and healthcare sectors.
The majority of demand is still met by traditional skill sets like software development, infrastructure management, and app development, even if professions in the AI and Gen AI fields are growing in popularity. Furthermore, analysts said that while AI is in demand in enterprise technology, products are still in the early stages of realizing AI’s full potential.
