AI Drives Hands-On Upskilling as Top Priority for Employees: upGrad Report

Mumbai / New Delhi, March 4, 2025: upGrad Enterprise, the corporate skilling leader and the Enterprise division of one of Asia’s largest integrated and forever learning majors upGrad, today unveiled The Workforce Wishlist 2025, a comprehensive report capturing the evolving skilling aspirations and work motivators of Indian professionals in an AI-driven workplace.

A survey of over 8,000 Indian professionals across 28 industries - including automotive, banking, e-commerce, education, healthcare, IT, manufacturing, and retail reveals a significant correlation between upskilling initiatives and employee retention, with 42% of respondents indicating they remain with organisations that invest in their learning and development. Despite 91% valuing employer-supported training, 78% report a lack of relevant opportunities. The demand for AI skills is evident, as 83% consider them crucial, yet 65% identify as novices.

Other key Findings include:

• Artificial Intelligence (AI), cloud computing, cybersecurity, green skills, and data analytics remain at the top of the upskilling agenda.
• 51% of respondents favor hybrid learning, 48% seek role-specific training, while 40% prefer mixed learning methods.
• Standardized programs no longer work, a customized and collaborative approach is a potential way forward One in three professionals lacks leadership, negotiation, and problem-solving skills, while only 20% actively work on developing them. This jeopardizes leadership pipelines, highlighting the need for a company-wide push to bridge the gap and unlock growth opportunities.
• 44% want AI safety training, 57% seek sustainability skills and 63% prioritize cybersecurity in today’s modern-day workplace parlance
• Decision-making, problem-solving, and emotional intelligence need focus
• Companies must balance employer-led and self-driven learning, move AI skilling from intent to action, and ensure AI safety training

Commenting on the report, Srikanth Iyengar, CEO of upGrad Enterprise, said, "Workforce dynamics are undergoing a significant transformation - upskilling and skilling have really evolved beyond ‘good to have’. Hence, these trends mirrors individuals’ work motivators and while we have built a very strong industry-backed primary research repository for us, it supports us in servicing our clients with much sharper and accurate skilling solutions - that nudges the right leadership chords, enabling GCCs and global organisations to build a powerful and future-ready talent pipeline across domains.”

The report reveals that 45% of respondents are Millennials (ages 29–44), 31% are GenX (ages 45–60), 22% are GenZ (ages 13–28), and 2% are Baby Boomers (ages 61–79). This demographic distribution underscores the need for employers to integrate structured, action-driven learning opportunities—ensuring that upskilling is not just an HR mandate but a shared leadership vision to future-proof careers.