Workers with AI skills may witness up to 54% salary hikes: AWS Research

New Delhi: Workers in India with AI skills and knowledge may see salary hikes of more than 54 per cent with those in IT and research and development enjoying the highest pay increases, according to a report by Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Around 99 per cent of employers envision their companies becoming AI-driven organisations by 2028, the report commissioned by Amazon subsidiary AWS stated.

“While most employers (97 per cent) believe their finance department will be the biggest beneficiary, they also foresee IT (96 per cent), research and development (96 per cent), sales and marketing (96per cent), business operations (95 per cent), human resources (94 per cent), and legal (92 per cent) departments driving significant value from AI too,” it said.

Around 98 per cent of surveyed employers and workers expect to use generative AI tools on the job within the next five years, with 73 per cent of employers highlighting ‘increasing innovation and creativity’ as the top benefit.

The report – Accelerating AI Skills: Preparing the Asia-Pacific Workforce for Jobs of the Future – surveyed over 1,600 workers and 500 employers in India.

"At AWS, we are helping organisations such as Wipro, L&T Technology Services, Iris Software, and others, to upskill their employees to be ready for a future powered by generative AI," said Amit Mehta, Head of AWS Training and Certification, AWS India.

The research also revealed the skill gap in AI, stating that hiring AI-skilled talent is a priority for more than nine in ten (96 per cent) employers in India, of which 79 per cent can’t find the AI talent they need. This highlights the need for greater collaboration between governments, industries, and educators, it said.

Around 95 per cent of workers in India indicated a keen interest in developing AI skills to accelerate their careers, and this interest transcends generations, it added.

“95 per cent of Gen Z, 96 per cent of Millennials, and 93 per cent of Gen X workers want to acquire AI skills, while 90 per cent of baby boomers — a demographic usually contemplating retirement — say they would enrol in an AI upskilling course if it was offered.”