Surging AI demand sparks upskilling need across industries

EDTECH FIRMS ARE witnessing huge surge in enrolment for AI and allied courses as students, teachers, job seekers and even existing employees at IT firms and startups feel the need to upskill themselves.

- PADMINI DHRUVARAJ

Enrolments across different courses have surged over 200% in the last one year, according to industry executives.

"Considering our AI-related courses across our consumer and enterprise enrollments, we have seen a 2.6 times growth in the last year," Kashyap Dalal, co-founder and chief operating officer at edtech firm Simplilearn, said. "A year back, we had a portfolio comprising seven AI courses. In the last one year, five more courses have been added to our AI catalogue, taking the total offerings to 12," he added.

On similar lines, Aarul Malaviya, founder and director of Zamit, an edtech company, said, "This year, we initiated a soft launch for our AI courses, which has already witnessed significant traction, with approximately 15 schools and 5,000 students registering. Encouraged by this initial success, numerous additional schools have expressed interest, with a considerable number slated for implementation in the upcoming 2024-25 academic year".

Additionally, the launch of chatbots such as ChatGPT from OpenAI has increased the demand for Generative AI courses. "In India, there has been a significant surge in demand for Gen AI courses, with a 195% year-on-year increase in the first quarter of 2024," said Malaviya. This emphasises the fundamental shift in how individuals and businesses are adopting AI to modernise operations and gain a competitive edge in the swiftly evolving business landscape.