AI School's in session: India Inc says 'everyone must learn' as machines get smarter
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New Delhi: Call it the need of the hour, a growing number of companies are extending AI training to all employees, rather than a select few, as they seek to stay relevant in the ongoing AI-driven transformation. These include top corporates such as Vedanta Group Schneider Electric , Accenture India, Sap Labs India, Indian Energy Exchange , Sterlite Electric, Resonia, and Serentica Renewables. Some are working in phases to cover their entire workforces.Vedanta is searching for an AI specialist to implement the latest technologies and AI capabilities at the natural resources company. It is also in the process of setting up an AI & digital R&D innovation centre. Schneider Electric is introducing 30 minutes "AI for all" training for all 150,000 employees.SAP Labs India, which upskilled half of its workforce in AI, is now moving forward to train the remainder. Accenture has identified 14 future-fit data and AI practitioner skills for the gen AI era.Globally, Accenture has steadily expanded its data and AI workforce to around 72,000, pushing with its goal of 80,000 by this FY26-end."Success with AI and generative AI requires investing in people as much as in technology," said Mukesh Chaudhary, lead-data and AI, advanced technology centers global network and global delivery lead for data at Accenture.The firm is coaching its AI/ML engineers, gen AI developers, and architects on agentic AI, said Chaudhary.Vedanta is upskilling both functional and leadership roles on AI across operations. "As a leading critical minerals, energy and technology company, we see AI as a key enabler for operational excellence, sustainability, and value creation," said Madhu Srivastava, CHRO, Vedanta. Specific roles include plant managers, process engineers, analysts, automation leads, digital transformation officers, and frontline P&L leaders. Vedanta is giving priority to skills in AI/ML, predictive analytics, generative AI, digital twins, and intelligent automation."We have committed significant investments towards building internal AI & Digital R&D centre, partnerships with global firms & platforms," she said.The R&D wing of SAP, SAP Labs India has multiple skilling programmes like Learning Fest and Joule Agentic Acceleration to equip employees with AI capabilities that can be applied to build real-life solutions, said MD Sindhu Gangadharan, also the chairperson of industry body Nasscom. It also has 'AI Foundation'-an upskilling programme for developers to get hands-on AI expertise. SAP Labs India has over 17,000 employees.Meanwhile, companies are also partnering with institutes. For instance, Accenture is collaborating with IIM Bangalore and IIIT Bangalore.To prepare for the AI-driven transformation, Indian Energy Exchange has adopted a structured, two-phased approach to upskill its staff. In the first phase, all employees will be introduced to foundational concepts of AI and gen AI, along with real-world applications, said Brijesh Narang, vice president, HR.The second phase will focus on function-specific training. In this phase, targeted programmes will be delivered to different strategic business units, Narang said.Role-based AI learning journeys tailored for project managers, engineers, and business analysts will soon be rolled out at Sterlite Electric, Resonia, and Serentica Renewables, said Ruhie Pande, group CHRO. "These will focus on real-world applications such as predictive maintenance, AI-assisted trading, and data-driven decision making."Sterlite Electric is actively investing in AI upskilling through platforms like Sterlite Electric Learning Academy and Sterlite Electric Projects Academy. These are helping employees with foundational and role-specific AI capabilities, she said.Schneider Electric is upskilling its employees on AI through the "Data & AI Upskilling@Scale" programme to familiarise its 150,000 global employees with AI.
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