 "Artificial Intelligence, AI")
As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to reshape the world of work, 94 per cent of companies in India plan to enhance their employees' skills and abilities this year, according to LinkedIn's latest "Workplace Learning Report".
The report highlights upskilling employees, aligning learning programs with business goals, and creating a culture of learning as the top three focus areas for India's learning and development (L&D) professionals in 2024.
Soft skills take centre stage, with nine in ten L&D professionals prioritising human skills. The report reveals that 91 per cent of L&D professionals in India view human skills as increasingly competitive in the economy. 'Communication' has topped LinkedIn's most in-demand skills list in 2024 across all countries in the Asia Pacific, including India. Soft skills like critical thinking and problem-solving are among the top five skills that hiring managers in India consider the most important in the AI era.
Ruchee Anand, senior director of Talent, Learning, and Engagement Solutions at LinkedIn India, said, "Last year, we saw a 21x surge in job postings mentioning ChatGPT or GPT on LinkedIn, reflecting the growing demand for tech skills as businesses explored AI. This year, we are seeing a pronounced shift towards skills - both technical and soft skills - to thrive in the era of AI. With skills for jobs globally expected to change by 68 per cent by 2030, we are seeing a greater emphasis on learning both technical and soft skills, with a majority of employers surveyed agreeing that this balance will be critical for organisations to succeed in the age of AI."
L&D professionals are keen on investing in a culture of continuous learning. Companies in India are focusing on enhancing employees' skills for greater confidence and job security by offering online training and development programmes (53 per cent) and providing opportunities for hands-on experimentation with Gen AI tools (54 per cent).
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This soaring focus on creating a culture of learning will lead to increased investments in learning opportunities. In fact, 96 per cent of L&D professionals in India said they can show business value by helping employees gain skills to move into different internal roles.
The LinkedIn report highlights that 48 per cent of India's hiring managers are providing career progression opportunities to their existing employees. They also believe that "helping employees build the skills needed for the future of work" (38 per cent) and "providing competitive salary and benefits" (31 per cent) are key to retaining top talent.
Additionally, India's hiring managers believe that highlighting career advancement opportunities (59 per cent) and 'increasing internal mobility' (51 per cent) are crucial to attracting top talent.
To assist companies in taking a skills-first approach to achieving their L&D and talent goals, LinkedIn has introduced innovative AI-powered tools such as Recruiter 2024, which enables hirers to quickly access high-quality candidate recommendations by using natural language search prompts and rich data, ensuring they are able to shortlist talent based on the skills they need. These features will be available to all of LinkedIn's Asia Pacific customers in English-speaking markets from the end of February.
To help companies build the skills they need for the next decade of work, LinkedIn has launched LinkedIn Learning, a chatbot experience that offers real-time advice and tailored content recommendations. This is currently available to APAC customers in English-speaking markets.
In early March, LinkedIn will be launching new career development and internal mobility features within LinkedIn Learning to help guide employees to critical skills, develop skills that matter to grow, and connect to the best-fit opportunity at their organisation. This will be available in English, Hindi, Japanese, Indonesian, and Malay, among others.
