Most Indian employees fear losing jobs to AI, automation; feel urgent need to reskill: Udemy survey

A majority of Indian employees are of the view that automation and artificial intelligence (AI) are taking away their jobs. A survey by e-learning marketplace Udemy showed that 82 percent respondents agree that automation and artificial intelligence could replace them and they need to reskill to stay relevant.

As per the Global Skills Gap Report by Udemy, a majority (92 percent) of employees in India agree there is a skills gap in the country and two-thirds (76 percent) of them feel personally affected by it.

Besides, 76 percent think AI/automation will be able to do their work within the next five years.

The Udemy report analyses insights from employees in India, Brazil, France, Mexico and Spain and tracks their sentiment towards the skills gap in their respective countries.

After Brazil (where 94 percent agree there is a skill gap), Indian employees reported the highest skills gap.

The four most valued skills are technical and digital skills followed by leadership skills, productivity skills and soft skills.

The Udemy report showed Indian employees learn mostly through online courses (44 percent) and corporate professional development (34 percent).

The respondents (82 percent) also agreed that college education has not equipped them with the skills they need to succeed in today’s job market.

Irwin Anand, MD, Udemy India said there is an underlying anxiety, with as many as three-quarters of workers in India responding that they feel personally affected by the skills gap.