GCCs Shift Hiring Focus Toward Soft Skills as AI Reshapes Technical Jobs
A report from Ceipal and People Matters, drawing on more than 150 survey responses and interviews with GCC leaders, found that 66% of global capability centers in India place generative AI and prompt engineering among their top hiring priorities. Only 26% prioritize program and transformation leadership, while 22% rank product management and design as a top focus. The article says GCCs increasingly need domain translation, AI fluency, communication, adaptability, and ethical judgment alongside technical depth.
A Ceipal and People Matters report, based on over 150 survey responses and GCC leader interviews, shows India's global capability centers prioritizing generative AI and prompt engineering. Data science, AI engineering, cybersecurity, and cloud architecture also rank highly. Yet program and transformation leadership draws top priority from only 26%, and product management and design from 22%.
This uneven emphasis matters as GCCs move past delivery into product development, innovation, and higher-value enterprise work. A PwC India-FICCI study cited notes nearly 72% of GCCs must reskill or upskill over 40% of staff to realize AI's value. Domain translation, AI fluency, communication, adaptability, and ethical judgment increasingly accompany technical depth.
The shift could affect technical professionals in India's GCCs, who may need stronger communication, business translation, and ethical judgment alongside AI skills. Employers might find that hiring for AI without product and transformation leadership slows scaled deployment. Reskilling large portions of the workforce could reshape training, career progression, and how teams are organized, with ripple effects for educators and local talent markets.