The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasing rapidly in India, but a big challenge is also emerging with it. Companies are not finding qualified professionals for positions related to AI and Machine Learning (ML). According to the latest report by human resources (HR) consulting company Randstad Digital, more than 10% of the jobs of AI Solutions Lead and Machine Learning Engineer in India are still lying vacant.
According to the report, 10.3% of AI Solutions Lead and 11.2% of Machine Learning Engineer posts have not been filled yet in India. Randstad says that if the vacancy rate in any field exceeds 10%, then it is considered to be a serious shortage of talent.
It has been told in the report that not only in India, but also in many big countries there is a huge shortage of AI experts. 27% of AI solutions lead positions are vacant in the US and 18% in the UK. At the same time, 8.2% of the posts of machine learning engineers in America have not been filled yet.
The situation in Japan has been described as the most challenging. There 46.8% posts of AI engineers and 25% of generative AI engineers are vacant. It is clear from this that companies all over the world are struggling with the shortage of AI talent.
According to the report, almost half of the jobs related to AI technology emerging in the world are only in America and India. America's share is 29%, while India alone has become the second largest market in the world with 20.5% AI job openings.
Milind Shah, Managing Director of Randstad Digital India, says that India has no shortage of talent, but the number of professionals with advanced AI skills is still less than required. This is the reason why companies are facing difficulties in recruitment.
The impact of shortage of experts in the AI field is also visible on the recruitment process. According to the report, it took an average of 53 days to recruit an AI manager in the first quarter of 2026, whereas four years ago the same process was completed in just 25 days. This means that companies are now taking more time than ever to find the right candidate.
Companies are now not just experimenting with AI, but are also making it a part of their business. This is the reason why the demand for developers with AI skills has increased rapidly in India. According to the report, the demand for AI-enabled developers in India has increased by more than 660% by the beginning of 2026 compared to 2021, while the growth in demand for traditional software developers has been quite limited. Experts believe that the demand for professionals related to AI and machine learning will increase in the coming years, hence developing skills in these areas can become a better career opportunity for the youth.
