Only 16%IT workforce AI-skilled

Mumbai: India's technology industry is facing a significant AI-ready talent gap, with shortages estimated at 53-60 per cent in Generative AI and cloud skills, a report said on Tuesday. India's tech industry is growing fast, but the supply of AI-ready talent is not keeping pace, as TeamLease Digital's 'Digital Skills & Salary Primer FY27, found a 53-60 per cent talent gap in GenAI and Cloud. According to the report, only about 16 per cent of IT professionals are holding AI skills. Cloud has the widest supply gap of the four skill families at 55-60 per cent, followed by GenAI at about 53 per cent, while demand for GenAI talent is expected to cross 10 lakh roles by 2026. The gap in Cybersecurity stands at 25-30 per cent, which is narrowing but still material.

The TeamLease Digital's 'Digital Skills & Salary Primer FY27 is based on analysis of 37,000 technology and digital roles from TeamLease Employee Data of 2026-27, across GCCs, tech firms and core industries. The report further revealed that, amid a shortage of skilled talent, salary premiums are increasingly shifting towards AI-core and product-critical engineering roles, even at the early stages of a career. A GenAI Developer (AI-Core) earns Rs 11.2 LPA at 0-2 years, rising to Rs 34.5 LPA at 6-8 years, defining how wide the gap is. A Data Engineer (AI-Adjacent) moves from Rs 9.1 LPA to Rs 29.6 LPA, while a Technical Support Engineer (AI-Support) moves from Rs 5.2 LPA to Rs 14.6 LPA. By 6-8 years, GenAI, ML and Data Science roles reach Rs 31-35 LPA, nearly 2 times of AI-Support roles, and the gap is set to widen, with projected FY28 growth of 16.2 per cent for GenAI Developers, 12 per cent for Data Engineers and 6.6 per cent for Technical Support Engineers. "AI is changing what it means to be capable. Using AI tools is now the baseline, what the market rewards is the ability to build, run and govern AI in production. That is why we look at talent through three tiers, AI-Core, AI-Adjacent and AI-Support, because with only about 16 per cent of IT professionals holding AI skills, 'AI-skilled' means very different things at each level," TeamLease Digital CEO Neeti Sharma said.

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