NEW DELHI – Mr Aditya Chopra is not looking for a new job, but recruiters keep calling him anyway. The 36-year-old data-science specialist works in artificial intelligence, perhaps the most coveted experience on the planet after OpenAI demonstratedMr Chopra, who works outside of New Delhi, sees friends in the field get pay hikes of 35 per cent to 50 per cent each time they switch jobs. “There’s a real shortage of data and AI talent,” he said.
Recruitment stories verge on the absurd. In one search Mr Shah’s firm just handled, the new employer more than doubled a candidate’s pay. Mr Freedom Dumlao, chief technology officer of Flexcar, interviewed one engineer who said a rival suitor had offered him a BMW motorcycle as a sign-on bonus.India’s tech industry is built on a plentiful supply of affordable workers.
“The proportion of unfilled job roles is approximately 51 per cent of the current installed talent base,” it said in a February report, flagging the crunch as a risk to growth. “ChatGPT has driven the larger domain of artificial intelligence out of stealth mode,” said Mr Vikram Ahuja, co-founder of ANSR Consulting, which helps design and establish technology centres for corporations.
India has the second-largest pool of highly skilled AI, machine learning and big data talent, according to the February report by Nasscom, after the United States. It produces 16 per cent of the world’s AI talent pool, placing it among the top three talent markets with the US and China.