By A new report from Talent500, part of ANSR, has found that 71% of surveyed Indian tech, product and data professionals consider hands-on AI upskilling important, but only 29% say their current employers provide it. The “What Talent Wants 2026” report, published by ETHRWorld on 19 October 2026, also found that 87% of respondents said defined career-growth information was very important when assessing an organisation, and 79% would abandon an application or decline an offer if a clear career path was missing.
The findings point to a widening gap between what Indian tech workers expect from employers and what they actually receive. According to ETHRWorld, the report suggests employers may need to move beyond training programmes towards practical learning opportunities and greater transparency around career advancement. The gap is most visible in Global Capability Centres, where only 36% of employees described their career path as very clear, compared with 50% in IT services and 51% in startups.
What practical AI skills actually mean in India
The term “practical AI skills” is often used loosely, but for Indian tech workers it refers to applied competencies rather than theoretical knowledge. In the current hiring market, this includes building retrieval-augmented generation pipelines, fine-tuning open-source models on domain data, working with vector databases, and deploying models using cloud AI services available in Indian data centre regions. Employers increasingly expect candidates to demonstrate these skills through working projects, not certificates alone.
The report’s finding that only 29% of employers provide hands-on AI upskilling matters because Indian tech workers have historically relied on employer-sponsored training to stay current. Large IT services firms have invested in internal academies and learning platforms, but the data suggests these programmes may not be translating into day-to-day applied work. For HR teams, the implication is that a learning management system with AI courses is not the same as giving employees real problems to solve with AI tools.
Career paths in GCCs, startups and IT services
The report found that 69% of respondents chose Global Capability Centres as their preferred next career move, ahead of Indian product companies at 37% and IT services firms at 28%. Yet GCC employees reported the lowest clarity on career progression. When evaluating GCC opportunities, career growth ranked as the leading consideration at 48%, followed by the global parent brand at 41% and India centre leadership and culture at 36%.
This creates a specific challenge for GCC talent leaders. The centres are attractive because of their global scale and technology exposure, but the report indicates they may need to strengthen career-development pathways to retain the very talent they are attracting. For HR and payroll readers, the practical question is whether compensation alone can offset unclear progression. The data suggests it cannot, since 79% of respondents would walk away from an offer without a defined career path.
The report also found that 59% of respondents were actively looking for their next role, and only 18% described themselves as firmly settled. Among experienced professionals with 12 or more years of experience, 91% said they would consider switching jobs. That is a striking figure for HR teams managing retention risk among senior staff.
How candidates research employers
The report offers useful detail on where Indian tech workers look for career information. LinkedIn is used by 92% of respondents to research employers, while 81% visit company websites or careers pages. About 31% use AI tools to research employers. This means the career-growth information that 87% of respondents value must be visible on public channels, not buried in internal portals.
For HR teams, this has direct implications. A careers page that lists job openings without explaining promotion criteria, skill-to-role mapping, or internal mobility options is failing the majority of candidates. The report’s findings suggest that transparency about how people advance, what skills lead to which roles, and how performance is assessed may now be as important as salary in the Indian tech market.
| Employer type | Employees describing career path as very clear |
|---|---|
| Startups | 51% |
| IT services | 50% |
| Global Capability Centres | 36% |
What HR teams can do next
The report does not prescribe specific actions, but the data supports several practical steps. First, audit whether current AI training includes applied project work rather than passive course completion. Second, publish career-path information on public channels, including promotion timelines, skill requirements for each level, and examples of internal moves. Third, review the candidate experience for the 79% who would decline an offer without a clear career path, and ensure interviewers can articulate progression routes.
The finding that 72% of professionals with less than three years of experience would consider switching jobs also suggests early-career retention needs attention. Younger workers may be more willing to move for clarity, even if compensation is comparable.
Sources: ETHRWorld
Photo: Mrinal Kumar Bandyopadhyay Delivering His Popular Lecture On Capturing The Majes by Gangulybiswarup, CC BY 4.0
