Pearson Advocates Role Redesign to Solve India’s Tech Talent Gap Using AI and Automation

In its most recent Skills Outlook report, Solving the Tech Talent Gap from Within, global education business Pearson reveals that India's technology workforce stands on the verge of revolution. With the penetration of AI tools and automation, traditional jobs are transforming at a breakneck speed. Rather than searching elsewhere, Pearson recommends thinking outside the box—strategic redesign of roles, which makes use of in-house talent and in-house development.

AI and Automation to Free Up 17 Additional Hours per Month

Pearson's study examined five of India's most remunerative tech jobs: systems software developers, computer programmers, system architects/engineers, system analysts, and network architects. The study determined that with proper utilization of AI tools, like LLM chatbots (e.g., GitHub Copilot or ChatGPT) and robotic process automation (RPA), employees can save 2.5 to 3.9 hours of their time weekly by 2029. The productivity boost of up to 17 hours per month per employee is the result of automating activities like error checking, code rewriting, file handling, and system monitoring.

By offloading such drudgery labor, companies can free staff to focus on more valuable and higher-order work—whether from system architecture and infrastructure building to human-AI collaboration and innovation. For instance, software developers can focus on architectural issues and security patches, and programmers can move to more algorithmic code and AI monitoring.

Time Invested in Strategic Upskilling

Vinay Kumar Swamy, Country Head, Pearson India, stressed reconsidering workforce strategy: "In India's rapidly evolving jobs economy, businesses simply can't afford to make workforce development an afterthought. According to our research, by strategically redesigning jobs instead of replacing them, employers can create real value out of existing teams."

Pearson views the saved time as a chance for firms to re-invest in upskilling and reskilling. Instead of laying off employees, firms can reassign work and enable workers to acquire new-generation skills in line with evolving jobs. This achieves agility and wins a competitive advantage in a technology-driven world being scripted at light speed by automation.

India's Technological Future is in Collective Intelligence

Pearson's report shifts AI from being a job killer to a collaborator that can liberate human potential. Through AI, Indian technology companies can enhance productivity while fostering higher employee engagement by automating and redistributing work to high-level thinking and problem-solving.

In a global environment of relentless digital change, this "role redesign" approach is a catalyst for workforce resilience—technology-enabled, innovation-fueled, and learning-driven.