India’s manufacturing sector faces a widening skills gap driven by rapid digital adoption and demographic shifts. By 2025, 50% of manufacturers will deploy IIoT—up from 10% in 2020—demanding hybrid expertise in AI, robotics, and data analytics. Experts warn that ageing workers, lagging training systems, and outdated perceptions threaten competitiveness. Leaders from Cummins India, Autodesk, GE Aerospace, and NLB Services stress urgent upskilling, citing institutional knowledge loss and the need for digital-literacy integration into traditional craftsmanship.
According to www.manufacturingtodayindia.com, India’s manufacturing sector faces a deepening skills shortage—not for lack of jobs, but due to a critical mismatch between workforce capabilities and emerging technological demands.
Convergence of Craftsmanship and Digital Literacy
Modern Indian manufacturers must integrate traditional expertise with digital competency rather than treat them as opposing forces. As Sidharth Thakur, Director of Grassik Search, states in an article dated July 5, 2025, upskilling and reskilling are central to this integration—requiring targeted investment in training that builds digital literacy while enriching existing skill sets. The sector contributes significantly to India’s GDP, yet its foundation—craftsmanship and institutional knowledge—is now under pressure from rapid technological adoption.
The industry must assimilate modern digital tools without eroding the tacit knowledge held by skilled operators, engineers, and technicians. These professionals possess an innate understanding of machinery, materials, and process variability—capabilities no algorithm can fully replicate. At the same time, digital proficiency is delivering measurable competitive advantage: technologies including data analytics, machine vision, AI, digital twins, and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) are transforming supply chain management, predictive maintenance, quality assurance, and customer personalisation.
Quantifying the Gap: Ageing Workforce and Lagging Systems
The skills deficit is compounded by structural challenges. According to Shubhankar Chatterji, Chief Supply Chain Officer at Cummins India, technologies like IIoT, automation, and additive manufacturing are driving unprecedented demand for new competencies. He notes that 50 per cent of Indian manufacturers are projected to adopt IIoT by 2025, up from just 10 per cent in 2020. This tenfold increase underscores the scale and pace of change.
“Rapid technological advancements have created a demand for specialised skills in areas like robotics, IoT, and AI, but our education and training systems have not kept pace. Additionally, the sector is grappling with an ageing workforce. Compounding this is the perception problem—manufacturing is often seen as less innovative or appealing compared to sectors like IT or finance.”
Curt Chan, Strategic Partnerships Manager at Autodesk, reinforces this concern:
“A huge wave of experienced workers are retiring, taking their valuable knowledge with them. We are losing that institutional knowledge, and it is hard to replace.”
The 2024 joint report “Industry 4.0 and Modernising Manufacturing Education” by ASME, Autodesk, and ASEE calls for expanded training for engineers, technicians, and educators—providing concrete guidance on future skills and workflows for the next decade.
Emerging Roles Demand Hybrid Expertise
By 2025, high-demand roles will require hybrid skill sets blending domain mastery with digital fluency. As Sachin Alug, CEO of NLB Services, writes in a December 6, 2024 article, the industry now prioritises professionals skilled in automation engineering, cybersecurity, and data analytics. Innovations in AI, IoT, cloud computing, and data analytics have become the operational backbone of modern manufacturing—yet digitalisation enhances, rather than replaces, human involvement.
Amol Nagar, Executive Director Global Manufacturing Operations & Supply Chain at GE Aerospace, highlights aerospace-specific urgency: the sector requires specialists who merge traditional engineering with robotics and AI. Key emerging roles include Robotics Engineer, Quality Control Engineer, Inventory Specialist, and Factory Manager—all increasingly reliant on digital toolchains.
- AI and machine learning drive predictive maintenance and yield optimisation
- IIoT enables real-time equipment monitoring across production lines
- Digital twins support simulation-based process validation before physical deployment
Manufacturers investing in skills, leadership, and technology report stronger growth, operational agility, and long-term resilience—confirming that workforce capability remains the decisive factor in Industry 4.0 readiness.
Source: manufacturingtodayindia.com
Compiled from international media by the SCI.AI editorial team.
