Contrary to the dominant view that Artificial Intelligence will impact millions of jobs across sectors, a report by Bain & Company has claimed that the AI sector is expected to offer over 2.3 million jobs by 2027.
The report added that the talent pool will grow to just 1.2 million, creating an opportunity to upskill professionals to meet the demand.
The management consulting firm has expected the AI talent pool will grow from 800,000 in 2024 to 940,000 in 2025. And, in 2026, the AI talent pool could reach up to 1.08 million. However, the baseline demand for AI talent, which will be 1.5 million, could peak at 2 million in the available workforce in 2025.
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The AI talent pool shortages might also be felt in the Western countries. The Bain & Company report mentioned that the UK could see a shortage of over 50 percent in the AI talent pool, while in Germany, 70 percent of AI jobs could remain unfulfilled. Australia’s AI talent pool shortfall is projected to be around 60,000 professionals by 2027.
Given the severe talent shortages, Indian AI professionals could get job benefits in other countries too, including the US.
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The study also revealed that 44 percent of the executives said they lack in-house AI expertise as a key barrier to implementing generative AI.
“India has a unique opportunity to position itself as a global AI talent hub. However, AI job openings are expected to be 1.5x to 2x the available talent. The challenge and opportunity lie in reskilling and upskilling a significant portion of the existing workforce in emerging technology tools and skillsets,” says Saikat Banerji, partner and lead at Bain & Company’s AI Insights and Solutions Practice in India.