IT companies are increasingly hiring a number of candidates with AI-related skills. For example, until last year, candidates with these skills accounted for around 10% of total employment, but this year's share is expected to be around 20-25%, analysts said. Furthermore, according to Pareeekh Jain, CEO of Pareeekh Consulting, if a company decides to increase its entry-level workforce by around 10%, half of that constitutes an AI-based role.
“IT companies currently need people with AI skills, and it's easier for new students to acquire these skills than experienced people. However, the supply among new students with AI skills is not available, so IT companies are checking whether students have AI aptitude and have conducted a course,” says Jain.
Krishna Vij, vice president of TeamLease Digital, shows that 20-25% of tech companies are targeting AI-related skills.
“The industry is accelerating digital transformation and making digitally skilled talent essential, and AI stands at the central stage of business strategy. Demand naturally leads to an increase, and higher demand essentially causes numbers,” Vij said.
She added that companies go beyond traditional programming expertise for candidates with problem-solving ability, logical reasoning and adaptability.
This trend reflects an emphasis on innovative talent to address the needs of evolving industry. With the rise of digital transformation across the sector, the demand for AI expertise has naturally driven employment for such skills.
HCLTech, one of the leading IT services companies, is also re-adjusting its employment strategy. Chief People Officer Ramachandran Sundararajan said at a press conference from July to September that the company is heading towards the professional skills of its 2026 recruitment cycle.
“When it comes to the cycle we are adopting now in 2026, I think there is a focus on not just pure numbers, but on specialisation that will be focused on campus, and that is what will be the focus and those plans will be finalized.
Fresh people entering the workforce are expected to optimize existing systems and adopt agile thinking. Companies are increasingly looking for AI-related skills such as proficiency in cloud platforms such as Python, R, Tensorflow, Pytorch, and AWS and Azure, Vij said.
These capabilities are evaluated through coding testing, project portfolio, and technical interviews aimed at identifying individuals who can implement AI algorithms and automate processes.
According to the Naukri JobSpeak Index, while the broader IT sector is facing contraction, AI and Machine Learning (AI/ML) job openings experienced a 20% growth in November jobs. Cities like Kolkata and Delhi-NCR led this surge with growth of 58% and 47% respectively.
Demand for AI/ML skills is reflected by the growth of the Global Capacity Centre (GCC), which is moving from back-office operations to strategic hubs. GCCS recorded a 62% year-over-year growth in the role of strategy and management consulting, indicating the evolving importance.
It affects AI entry level roles
The growing dependence on AI has restructured the IT industry, creating specialized roles such as AI/ML engineers and data engineers, and automating many entry-level positions. “Nearly 50% of AI-related jobs remain unmet, highlighting the need for fresh people to acquire relevant skills to fill this gap,” Vij said.
Traditional roles such as data entry, customer service and basic software development are becoming increasingly vulnerable to automation. AI-powered tools handle daily tasks such as resume screening, data analysis, and customer inquiries, reducing the need for human intervention in these areas.
In 2024, Wipro executive chairman Rishad Premji said that AI was the most disruptive transformation the technology industry has ever experienced, warning of the possibility of unemployment due to the impact of AI.
“The reality is that there is a job that disappears,” he said, stressing the need to bring people to this transformation.
He recommended shifting focus from job titles to specific tasks as it is likely that AI will automate certain tasks while leaving other tasks that require human involvement as is.
Premji also highlighted the importance of ensuring safety and security in AI adoption while addressing dataset bias. “We need to think about ways to bring people around and create the right guardrails so that we can quickly and on scale,” he said.
