Ahmedabad’s professionals embrace skills and learning to gear up for AI-powered future: LinkedIn

AI skilled talent in Ahmedabad has grown by 142% over the past one year

Ahmedabad, As Ahmedabad emerges as a key player in India’s tech and AI-driven future, professionals in the city are acquiring new skills to stay competitive. According to LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, there has been a 142% increase in AI-skilled talent in Ahmedabad. Nearly half of the city’s professionals value work-life balance (50%) and career growth (48%) when evaluating job opportunities.

Professionals are prioritising Learning

AI’s influence is likely to change the skills needed for jobs by 68% globally, and 64% in India by 2030. Indian professionals are responding to this shift by spending 2x more time learning on LinkedIn compared to the global average, with an increased focus on AI-related skills such as machine learning, generative AI, and deep learning. Interestingly, India now leads globally, with AI Engineering skills being 2.7x more prevalent among professionals here than the global average.

Ahmedabad’s talent is investing in key skills

In addition to AI, professionals are also investing time learning skills such as Computer Science (+151%), Computer Engineering (+120%), Operations (+110%), among others. Almost 40% of professionals in the city are engaging in ‘Loud Learning’ – the act of being vocal and intentional about learning ambitions in the workplace – spending at least 4-5 hours every week learning new skills.

Thriving demand across IT and engineering

With Engineering, IT, Software Development, and Analytical Skills being among the most common skills in Ahmedabad, the city’s talent attracts employers from IT Services, IT Consulting and Banking sectors. While industries seek the right talent, professionals in the city are looking for employers who offer work-life balance (50%), career growth (48%), better compensation (47%), and opportunities to learn new skills (46%).

Skills-first hiring unlocks larger talent pools

As professionals lean into skill development for career growth, recruiters can benefit by adopting a skills-first approach. LinkedIn data shows that hiring for skills can unlock a 12x larger talent pool in India and 9.4x globally, providing recruiters with a significant advantage in finding the right talent.

Ruchee Anand, India Country Head for Talent & Learning Solutions, LinkedIn, said, “The talent shifts in Ahmedabad have bolstered the city’s job market, with professionals consciously investing in learning to stay competitive in an AI-driven world. As these professionals turn to LinkedIn to grow their careers, we see a tremendous opportunity to connect organisations with skilled talent. Our AI-powered tools are making the hiring process more targeted and efficient, helping businesses find the right talent faster.”

Manan Khandelwal, Senior Director, Talent Acquisition, eInfochips, an Ahmedabad based digital transformation company, said, “At eInfochips, a skills-first approach helps us find candidates who can adapt to rapid changes in the technical arena. It allows us to tap into a wider talent pool and attract talent from diverse backgrounds, driving innovation in AI and engineering. LinkedIn Talent Solutions plays an instrumental part in how we build our workforce. The platform’s AI driven tools and Skills Assessment feature have helped us find candidates with niche skills and proven expertise, and solved several hiring challenges for us.”

LinkedIn Talent Solutions is placing AI in the hands of recruiters to help them find skilled talent as per the needs of their organisation:

• Recruiter 2024: LinkedIn’s AI-assisted recruiting experience makes hiring more efficient and easy so talent leaders can focus on strategic, people-centric work. Hirers can use natural language search prompts like – “I want to hire a senior growth marketing leader” – and LinkedIn’s AI models, paired with unique insights from over 1 billion professionals, 67.1 million companies and 41,000 skills on LinkedIn can infer the type of candidate the hirer is looking for and provide higher-quality candidate recommendations from a much wider pool of candidates.
• Since rolling out AI-assisted messages in May, three-fourths (74%) of recruiters in early tests are already saying it saves them time.
• With tools like Skills Match, LinkedIn is enabling recruiters to identify candidates whose skills align with the roles they are hiring for.