Indian GCCs need to upskill over 40 percent of workforce to realise AI value

A PwC India-FICCI study finds nearly 90 percent of GCC leaders remain confident about India's global leadership position, but talent shortages, low AI literacy among leaders and growing demand for hybrid business-tech skills could slow future growth.

India's Global Capability Centres (GCCs) are entering a phase of growth where success will depend less on adding headcount and more on building AI-ready talent with deep business expertise.

As GCCs take on larger roles, organisations are finding that hiring AI talent alone is not enough. The bigger challenge is developing professionals who can combine technology capabilities with domain knowledge and business judgement.

That shift is creating a large-scale workforce transformation opportunity across the GCC ecosystem. Nearly 72 percent of GCCs need to reskill or upskill more than 40 percent of their workforce to maximise the value of AI, according to a PwC India-FICCI study.

The findings suggest that 90 percent expect India to retain its leadership position through 2030. However, talent readiness, leadership preparedness and the availability of industry-specific AI skills are emerging as key challenges for the sector's next phase of expansion.

The growing focus on workforce transformation is also expected to drive higher investments in talent development. Most GCCs currently allocate between 3 percent and 5 percent of their operating budgets to skilling initiatives. However, 94 percent believe those investments need to increase to at least 6 percent, while over a quarter expect spending to exceed 8 percent.

Rajesh Ojha, partner and leader, GCC Market Segment, PwC India, said GCCs are becoming enterprise centres where strategic decision-making, digital innovation and AI-led transformation converge to create global business impact.

He said sustaining this transition will require organisations to rethink workflows, leadership models and skilling ecosystems while building capabilities that combine advanced AI skills with deep domain expertise and human judgement.

Demand grows for hybrid business and technology skills

GCC leaders are struggling to find professionals who can bridge technology expertise with industry and business knowledge. Around 62 percent identified the absence of talent combining domain expertise and technology capabilities as the biggest supply-side constraint facing GCCs today.

Competition for talent remains another major challenge. At the same time, over half of leaders pointed to a shortage of senior leaders equipped with the strategic competencies required in the AI era.

As enterprises expand AI adoption across core business operations, GCCs are evolving beyond their traditional role as cost-efficient service centres. They are becoming centres for digital innovation, business intelligence and AI-led transformation. The shift is expected to accelerate over the next few years. Around 86 percent of GCC leaders expect AI to bring substantial or transformational changes to the nature of work by 2030.

As a result, future competitiveness will depend on an organisation's ability to combine frontier AI capabilities such as data engineering, machine learning and cybersecurity with foundational skills including business judgement, sector expertise and strategic leadership.

Average AI literacy across leadership teams stands at just 27 percent. More than 90 percent of GCCs reported that 40 percent or fewer of their leadership teams possess sufficient AI literacy to support strategic decision-making.

Raghav Narsalay, partner and leader, Research and Insight Hub, PwC India, said AI ambitions are moving faster than leadership preparedness. He added that organisations need structured, deliberate and sector-relevant skilling pathways to bridge the gap between hiring talent and making that talent AI-ready.

The study also found that the challenge cuts across industries, although the intensity varies by sector.

Energy GCCs reported the highest reskilling requirements, with 87 percent indicating workforce transformation needs. Life sciences and healthcare followed at 80 percent each.

Even sectors with relatively lower requirements, including BFSI, manufacturing and technology, media and telecommunications (TMT), reported reskilling needs close to 50 percent, highlighting the broad-based nature of the challenge.

GCCs seek policy support

Beyond skills availability, GCC leaders are also grappling with productivity and talent readiness issues. New hires currently take an average of 8.69 months to become fully productive, creating a significant gap between talent acquisition and business outcomes.

This extended time-to-productivity is emerging as a key friction point as organisations attempt to scale AI initiatives and expand higher-value work within their India operations.

To address workforce readiness challenges, GCC leaders are calling for stronger support from academia and policymakers.

Around 57 percent want AI and digital skills integrated into engineering and management curricula to better align graduates with evolving industry requirements. Another 51 percent support government co-funding of GCC reskilling programmes to accelerate workforce development.

The findings suggest that while confidence in India's GCC story remains strong, sustaining growth will require a larger focus on workforce transformation.