Indian professionals continue to prioritise the ‘future-proofing’ of their skills, particularly in light of the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, according to the latest survey by staffing firm Randstad.

The development and advancement opportunities offered by employers have come out to be the top-most priority of employees, with three in five unlikely to accept a job offer or intending to quit their job if it did not provide the scope to future-proof their skills.

Nearly 61% workers out of 500 respondents said they will not accept a job or consider quitting a job if it didn’t offer learning and development opportunities to future-proof skills, according to the survey findings.

More people in India (84% versus 52% global) agreed that their employer is helping them develop future-proof skills (such as artificial intelligence) for their career advancement.

About 62% of the respondents think that the responsibility of training and upskilling actually lies with the employee with only 18% considering it to be an employer’s responsibility (23% employee/42% employer—global)

The top five learning and development opportunities that talent in India is most interested in include AI 45% (29% global); IT and tech literacy 40% (29% global); data science/analytics 29% (17% global); programming/coding 24% (18% global) and software project management 23% (15% global).“India’s employment market has become extremely talent-driven. Today, they are exercising a strong command over their career choices based on the value proposition they seek from employers,” said Viswanath PS, MD & CEO, Randstad India.“While there is no denying the fact that the overall employment landscape in India is yet to regain its pre-Covid peak, our Workmonitor 2024 India report suggests that the talent community is still selective about the kind of employers they choose to associate with,” he added.

The findings also suggest that Indians consider themselves to be the most ambitious about their career prospects, with millennials leading the ranks as compared to any other generation.

The report shows that in India, millennials (63%) believe that they are more ambitious about career progression than other generations, followed by Gen Z (60%), boomers (58%) and Gen X (52%). About 32% say they are worried about the impact of economic uncertainty on career progression and 22% are worried about the impact of economic uncertainty on job security.

“This presents an opportunity for India Inc as well as global corporations to leverage the country’s young, ready-to-shine, and large talent pool, which is looking for stable yet meaningful employment opportunities,” said Viswanath.

When asked what type of role they’d like in five years, 79% said a full-time role within a company, followed by 6% who want to work part-time. Only 5% will prefer a freelance role, while 9% want to run their own business, either with or without employees.

“Any employer looking to do more could consider offering well-being and mindfulness training, which 15% of workers now request. This trend is also seen in the number of people (94%) ranking mental health support and annual leave days as important factors in their job choices,” said Viswanath.

Across all age groups, though, a mismatch exists between workers’ desire to progress and how employers are responding. About 5% said their career progression is never addressed by their employer, even though 36% want these conversations at least once a quarter.

“In its entirety, the findings present a compelling picture of the Indian employment market and amplify the ‘voice of talent’ representing their workplace preferences,” he added.