Bridging the Gap: How India’s L&amp;D Leaders Are Shaping the AI-Ready Workforce
As 2025 unfolds, India’s learning and development (L&D) leaders race to bridge the gap between today’s workforce and tomorrow’s intelligence age. Among the leaders driving this transformation is Srikanth Vachaspati, the vice president and head of people at Siemens Technology and Services. Besides empowering employees to take charge of their careers, Vachaspati has also positioned Siemens as a leader in preparing its workforce for an AI-driven future. In contrast with conventional L&D models that frequently enforce top-down training initiatives, Vachaspati’s method strongly focuses on employees. He has integrated microlearning, peer coaching, and hands-on experimentation into Siemens’ L&D strategy, facilitating skill acquisition without interrupting productivity. Recognising the power of engagement in effective learning, Vachaspati employed gamification and competition along with social learning, fostering collaboration and knowledge-sharing among peers to create a sense of community and collective growth. His team has been using Siemens’ Learning Management System (LMS) to bridge the gap between academic learning and industry application. Under Vachaspati’s leadership, Siemens Technology and Services has invested significantly in upskilling its workforce. “Over 95% of trained employees have collectively invested over 3 lakh learning hours, with 61% focused on technology and market trends, 21% on functions and methods, 10% on leadership skills, and 8% on personal and interpersonal development,” he said. To keep the workforce agile, innovative, and future-ready, he has forged partnerships with leading universities and research institutions. His innovative use of technology has set a new standard for companies to prepare their workforce for the future. Using AI to Personalise and Scale L&D As AI takes the lead, Vachaspati is not alone on this journey. From Sudheendra Naganur at Bosch Global Software Technologies, who has led AI-powered learning paths, to Joanna Orkusz, talent development and learning leader at EY Global Delivery Services, who has gamified AI upskilling for thousands, visionary leaders across industries are driving innovative L&D initiatives to shape the future of the workforce. AIM spoke to some of these industry stalwarts to understand how their organisations are preparing for this change. One such leader is Tredence CHRO Rekha Nair, who, with her hackathons, ideathons, and accelerator projects, reinforces real-world impact, bringing a unique perspective to L&D. Nair describes the L&D function as the company’s ‘growth engine’ as these initiatives are tightly linked to talent retention and client confidence. Bosch Global Software Technologies (BGSW) has built its Talent Hub (T-Hub), an AI-powered platform offering learning paths tailored to employees’ roles and career stages. The company states that it can deploy these programmes within three weeks—a response to the demand for speed in upskilling. Orkusz, talent development and learning leader at EY GDS, reflects on her two decades in the field: “I’ve always tried to create workplaces that enable people to reach their full potential.” In 2025, this mission feels more urgent to her, and the industry at large. Meanwhile, leaders like Shalini Modi, head of learning at Genpact, Shefali Sharma Garg, chief talent officer at Publicis Sapient India, Roopa Bharvani, vice president of human resources at Fiserv and Rohin Nadir, chief learning officer at KPMG India, stand out as trailblazers who have redefined their organisation’s approach to talent development aligning with AI. Garg has built a comprehensive learning ecosystem that integrates AI into onboarding and leadership programs. Bharvani has prioritised upskilling at every level, from entry roles to leadership, focusing on domains like data science, cloud computing, and AI. Partnering with platforms like Udemy and Cornerstone, along with initiatives like Tech Thursdays, she and her company have fostered a culture of continuous learning and innovation. On the other hand, Nadir decided to leverage gamification and global initiatives like 24 Hours of AI to create a buzz around AI upskilling, and Modi at Genpact has integrated AI-driven tools to create hyper-personalised learning experiences. In January, the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 flagged upskilling as a key area of focus for organisations worldwide. As per a recent report, 85% of professionals planned to invest in upskilling this year as confidence in job retention dropped to 62%, a nine-point decline from last year. “The half-life of skills is shrinking,” said Modi. “Completely new roles are emerging, and L&D needs to be tightly aligned with business strategy.” For leaders like her, upskilling is an immediate imperative. Genpact has developed Genome.ai, a platform that maps skills against future business needs. It helps personalise learning journeys and includes an AI-powered virtual coach (AI Guru). Rasesh Shah, chief practice officer for edtech at Fractal, takes a similar approach at his organisation by combining AI-powered learning with adaptive coaching. Fractal’s programme, Generative AI Learning for All, includes simulations and real-time feedback. Meanwhile, Fiserv’s AI Academy offers tailored learning in areas like machine learning, generative AI, and MLOps. Partnering with Udemy and Cornerstone, it delivers scalable, accessible training. Initiatives like Tech Thursday forums and sandbox environments foster continuous learning and collaboration. Moving Away from One-Size-Fits-All Training According to Anthropic, 36% of jobs now use AI for a quarter of tasks, suggesting that generic training won’t cut it anymore. Publicis Sapient uses curated learning boards and a chatbot to guide employees. The company claims that in 2024, 17,000 employees completed GenAI training with 96% learning absorption. It also plans to build a 2,000-person AI engineering team through PS Slingshot, their proprietary AI platform. EY GDS segments AI learning into three roles: enthusiasts, technologists, and account executives. Over 70,000 of its employees have been trained, with 95% AI readiness and 32,000 AI badges awarded. Tredence runs its TALL programme, offering ‘personalised, career-stage learning’ with 82% of employees participating in structured learning. By 2025, over 1,000 will complete GenAI training and 30% of new hires will focus on GenAI and agentic AI. The results are tangible. Amisha Mittal, an assurance quality services manager at EY GDS, has seen the company’s AI-focused learning programmes change the way she works. “With a series of AI-centric initiatives, each has acted as a building block, contributing to my AI knowledge,” she said, commenting on how the tools have become an integral part of her daily work.
Employees need to develop new technical skills to live in the intelligence age.
Employees need to develop new technical skills to live in the intelligence age.
["AI (Artificial Intelligence)"]
["data science", "Anthropic", "GenAI", "machine learning", "agentic AI", "AI", "ML", "MLOps", "Aim", "generative AI", "AI (Artificial Intelligence)"]
["AI", "machine learning", "ML", "data science", "generative AI", "GenAI", "agentic AI", "Anthropic", "MLOps", "Aim"]
I hold a degree in political science, and am interested in how AI and online culture intersect. I am at aditi.suresh@analyticsindiamag.com &amp; x.com/aditisuresh12