Workers With AI Skills May Witness Up To 54% Salary Hikes: AWS Research

Workers in India with AI skills and knowledge may see salary hikes of more than 54% with those in IT and research and development enjoying the highest pay increases, according to a report by Amazon Web Services.

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

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

Around 98% of surveyed employers and workers expect to use generative AI tools on the job within the next five years, with 73% 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%) employers in India, of which 79% can’t find the AI talent they need. This highlights the need for greater collaboration between governments, industries, and educators, it said.

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

“95% of Gen Z, 96% of Millennials, and 93% 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.”