Indian firms have no plans to increase reskilling budgets significantly: Accenture

More than half the companies in India plan to use artificial intelligence (AI) to automate tasks in the next three years, but only 20% think their workforce is ready for AI adoption. Yet, none of them plan to increase investment significantly in reskilling programs, says a new report.

Accenture’s Future Workforce Study, which surveyed more than 1,200 CEOs globally (including 100 in India) and top executives whose companies are using AI, says that 59% of the respondents identified skills shortages as a ‘critical hindrance’ to future growth.

The study also revealed that at least 69% of senior Indian executives believe that adoption of advanced technologies will be critical to their organization’s ability to differentiate themselves in the market. But, “they either plan to increase investment slightly or stay the same,” an Accenture spokesperson told Fortune India.

The respondents were from various industries including automotive, software and platforms, consumer goods and services, banking (retail and investment), and telecommunications, among others.

“It’s clear that the future workforce needs to be skilled to work alongside machines, with a focus on improving the intrinsically human abilities that will determine their success,” said Sunit Sinha, managing director at Accenture who leads the company’s talent and organization practice in India.

Employers in India also underestimate the willingness of workers to acquire the relevant skills to use AI. Accenture found that 87% of the workers believe AI will have a positive impact on their work, while only 2% believe it will create challenges. 66% of workers consider it very important to develop skills to work with intelligent machines.