New Delhi, February 28, 2025 – As artificial intelligence (AI) repositions itself with industries around the globe, the tale turns from fear to opportunity when it comes to the employment effects. This was at the very first LinkedIn Talent Connect India event conducted on February 27, 2025, in New Delhi: Ruchee Anand, Senior Director of Talent and Learning Solutions at LinkedIn, aptly noted that “AI isn’t about fewer jobs; it’s about newer jobs.” This changed the tone towards a much larger interpretation of transformation for the workforce in India: turning AI into the assistant architect of innovation, equity, and career evolution- not as a job-killer.
Talent Connect India was the first such event organized by LinkedIn in the country, where HR professionals, talent acquisition leaders, and industry experts came together and discussed technology's contribution to expanding human potential. With India continuing at a blistering pace toward a fully digital economy, Anand's recommendations bring a certain clarity when looking at an AI-dominated future- he talks about the urgent need for upskilling, adaptable temperament, and a "skills-first" paradigm when it comes to hiring and development.
A New Era of Work:
India is the front-runner when it comes to adopting global AI, thanks to the country's gigantic and youthful workforce. Indeed, LinkedIn reports that India has one of the highest rates of AI skill adoption worldwide, with great enthusiasm for learning by Indian professionals. "In India, we see learners spending twice as many hours on skill development compared to the global average," Anand noted in an interview with The Indian Express on the sidelines of the event. This enthusiasm, she contended, would indeed put India in a unique position to benefit from the potential of AI.
AI doesn't eliminate jobs. It creates completely new professions, as well as various convertions. AI engineers, data scientists, and sustainability managers barely existed as jobs a decade ago; they are already among the hottest job markets. Last year's Work Change Snapshot report from LinkedIn found that about ten percent of the people hired in the world in 2004 hold jobs that did not exist in 2000, mostly in tech-savvy markets like India. "It's about new kinds of jobs, not fewer jobs," Anand says. That's how AI will shape future roles that will approach them by trying to merge technical expertise with human qualities like creativity and collaboration.
Addressing the Fear Factor:
The lightning-speed rise of AI has its difficulties, and for such years, one set of headlines has alarmed the public about mass job displacements as machines take over repetitive work. Anand countered this dystopian narrative by ringing in trust as a key pillar for LinkedIn’s approach: “Trust is at the core of everything we do—trust in technology, trust in talent, and trust in our platform itself,” she said. Knowing that change brings discomfort, she stated that LinkedIn's mission is to help its 150 million Indian members in the second-largest market across the globe to adapt to this new reality.
“AI isn’t here to replace us; it’s here to augment us,” Anand stated. She mentioned how LinkedIn works to bring down the wall of demystifying artificial intelligence through tools such as offering free generic introductory courses in generative AI co-created with Microsoft and having over 1,000 AI-related courses listed on LinkedIn Learning. She mentioned that “The key is ensuring that our members have the tools and confidence to traverse this transition,”.
The Talent Gap Challenge:
Although hope flourishes, Anand straight away mourns hurdles that lie ahead. As per a recent report by LinkedIn, while 98% of the business leaders in India are all set to embrace AI in 2025, there still exists a huge vacuum in talent. More than half of the HR professionals in India admit that less than half of all job applications meet their required qualifications. Talent in an area such as software development (44%) and expertise in AI (34%) are areas in which it is very hard to find talent. Soft skills, which include communication and problem solving, are also extremely elusive, with 33 percent of recruiters specifying them as a challenge.
"Many times, companies invest all their resources in AI tools but without the properly skilled personnel to place them into full use, hence changing a game-changing opportunity into a missed one," Anand cautioned. Her remedy? A "skills-first mindset." By shifting attention to skills over conventional credentials, companies can widen their talent search and match their workforce more closely with the demand being created by AI. In India, with the growth rate of LinkedIn membership above 20% yearly, this could mean openings never seen before.
Upskilling as the Great Equalizer:
Anand's focus lies not in merely pouring people into positions; rather, the entire aspect concerns equity itself. "AI can be a great leveller," she observed, referring to how it might help make opportunity access more equitable. Within a country like India that is rife with diversity and economic and educational disparities, skills training would go a long way in actually closing the kinds of barriers that underrepresented groups face. LinkedIn backs this too: a talent-first hiring strategy increases the number of women in a given role by 29% over men in roles in that occupation where they are traditionally underrepresented.
To this end, LinkedIn is ramping up learning and development. It introduced new AI tools: Recruiter 2024, which helps talent leaders to source candidates based on skills, and another AI coaching feature, which gives personalized feedback. “More than 8 in 10 HR professionals in India rank helping employees build new skills as a top priority for 2025," Anand remarked, mentioning a dual focus on AI proficiency and soft skills like collaboration.
India's Competitive Edge:
Already, AI is zealously welcomed by the Indian workforce. According to the Microsoft and LinkedIn Work Trend Index 2024, 92% of India's knowledge workers are adopting AI in their work, far above the global rate of 75%. The rate of adoption shows a workforce that seems to be keen on using this for productivity and innovation. "We always have this advantage that we have the talent in India," Anand said, calling on organizations to build this edge through continuous learning.