Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
AI will take your job, this is a phrase that you likely have heard recently. As companies across the world increasingly use AI tools like Claude or Codex, some fear that there may not be any roles in the future, particularly entry-level jobs. But as per a study by Cognizant and Pearson, this has already happened, with one in three entry-level jobs being taken over by AI.
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The study claims that globally 33 per cent of all entry-level roles were now being done by AI. In India, the figure was higher, at 37 per cent. While the difference is marginal, it hints that Indian companies may be adapting AI tools slightly quicker than others.
This report comes at a time when companies like TCS have stated that they were slowing down hiring of new employees following mass layoffs. Meta too closed around 6,000 open roles after it cut 8,000 jobs last month.
AI is doing more work but what about jobs?
The study was based on a survey of 750 HR leaders across India, UK and the US. 18 per cent of HR leaders stated that AI was now handling half or more of entry-level work in India. That is, some companies in India are already pushing for AI to do most of the entry-level work.
According to the report, organisations are rethinking hiring, workforce development and learning strategies as AI becomes part of day-to-day operations. But this doesn’t mean that entry-level jobs were going away altogether. Rather, companies say that AI was allowing employees to focus on higher-value work.
Nearly all HR leaders surveyed, or 96 per cent, said that they expected entry-level roles to evolve within the next five years into positions where employees supervise or manage AI systems. On the other hand, 94 per cent stated that AI would create new entry-level roles that do not exist today. That is, we may soon see new roles that previously were not there, thanks to the way AI was changing the way we work.
Keep in mind that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who previously warned of mass job exodus due to AI, recently stated that AI was creating more roles. He said, “The companies that I know that have adopted AI the most are also the ones hiring the most.”
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has shared similar views. He said earlier this month, “The people who are jumping to the conclusion that the jobs are all going to go away… I think these people are just wrong.”
What skills do companies want?
This shift towards greater AI in the workforce has changed the way companies hire workers. The report claims that organisations are now, more than ever, focusing on human skills. With 97 per cent of respondents stating that soft skills mattered much more, and 67 percent claiming that they now valued liberal arts degrees more than they used to.
But companies want workers to be AI-ready. In India, 91 per cent of organisations said they placed greater value on AI skills for non-technical roles, signalling a wider redefinition of job-ready talent. 61 per cent said they were facing challenges in finding talent with the right skills for an AI-driven workplace.
For those already in the workforce, 91 per cent of organisations reported increased demand from employees for AI training over the past 12 months. With 54 per cent stating that their organisations were proactively arranging AI upskilling for workers.
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
