India’s GCC skills gap puts 19% of sector value at risk by 2030: Report

India’s global capability centre (GCC) sector could have as much as 19.32% of its total value or revenue at stake by 2030 if critical talent and skills gaps remain unresolved, according to a PwC India-FICCI report released on Wednesday.

The report, based on a survey of 200 senior GCC executives across eight industries, said GCCs could unlock 7.83% additional value or revenue annually today by addressing critical skills shortages. The potential value at stake could rise to 19.32% of the sector’s total value or revenue by 2030 as artificial intelligence reshapes business models and workforce requirements.

“Unresolved talent and skills gaps are constraining annual value creation by up to 10%,” the report said, warning that these gaps could put nearly a fifth of future sector value at risk.

The findings assume significance as India’s GCC ecosystem has expanded from traditional back-office operations into hubs for product development, advanced analytics, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and enterprise strategy. The sector currently comprises more than 2,100 centres employing 2.36 million professionals, with an ecosystem valued at about $98 billion.

The skills shortage is already affecting business operations. Nearly 59% of GCCs reported delays in product launches, project timelines or go-to-market plans because of talent gaps, while 54% said shortages were limiting their ability to scale AI and digital transformation programmes.

More concerning for India’s position as a preferred GCC destination, 11% of GCC leaders said their global headquarters were actively evaluating or shifting mandates to competing geographies because of talent constraints.

The report also highlighted the scale of the reskilling challenge. Nearly 46% of the GCC workforce is expected to require significant upskilling or reskilling over the next three years, while the average time taken for a new hire to become productive is 8.69 months.

At the leadership level, AI readiness remains weak. Average AI literacy among senior GCC leaders stands at only 27%, with more than 90% of GCCs saying no more than 40% of their leadership teams possess adequate AI literacy for strategic decision-making.

The report said GCCs therefore need to move beyond hiring alone and build “composite skills”, combining AI capabilities such as data engineering, machine learning and cybersecurity with domain expertise, business judgement and strategic leadership.

The urgency is rising, with eight in 10 GCCs saying decisive action is needed within the next 12 months to address workforce, managerial and leadership capability gaps.

The report’s central message is that India’s GCC advantage is increasingly dependent not just on the availability of talent, but on how quickly that talent can be equipped for an AI-led business environment.