Reskilling at scale imperative for adoption of AI, analytics: Microsoft's Maheshwari

Adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics depends on reskilling at scale, which is a prerequisite for the next technological revolution, said Microsoft India president Anant Maheshwari in a blog post.

Reskilling is urgent for the workplace to absorb newer technologies, he said, adding that online micro-learning platforms will help to achieve this target at scale.

According to him, for the conversations on digital-transformation journeys to be more meaningful, employees should be well-acquainted with the technologies to make themselves more relevant in the ever-changing workplace.

"Skilling isn’t a specialist’s niche requirement. It’s not for any one demographic or geo-specific set. In today’s rapidly changing workplace, the skills that people need to future-proof their careers are already beginning to look different," Maheshwari wrote in his blog post.

Changes in the talent marketplace will accelerate with the adoption of technologies like automation and AI, Maheshwari said. Job titles like machine learning engineer or data scientist have been among the top emerging roles in India over the last five years, he said.

Pointing out the recent World Economic Forum’s "The Future of Jobs 2018" report, he said that it confirmed the urgent need to train and reskill the workforce. "It states that by 2022, at least 133 million new roles will emerge owing to the new division of labour between humans, machines and algorithms," Maheshwari said.

"The momentum must continue across the board. Senior- and mid-level managers must prioritise skilling for not just themselves but also their teams. A razor-sharp focus on building appropriate combinations of future-ready skills will create differentiators in the talent landscape," he added.