CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu has a five- to seven-year window to prepare its workforce for the artificial intelligence (AI) era, failing which the state risks losing a major economic opportunity, the State Planning Commission (SPC) has stated.
The SPC’s report titled, ‘Tamil Nadu: AI & Future Workforce–Preparing Every Level of the Workforce for the Age of Artificial Intelligence’ cautions that with the state’s total fertility rate already at 1.3 and 14% of the population above 60, the current demographic advantage will begin to shrink soon.
“Every year of delay in building AI workforce readiness reduces the productive years available to capture AI-driven gains across the working age population,” the report stated.
It pointed out that the state possesses one of the country’s largest higher education ecosystems, with 463 engineering colleges, 61 universities, 492 polytechnic institutions and 503 ITIs producing more than five lakh graduates annually. It also has the highest Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER). What, however, is missing is AI-focused content, mid-career reskilling pathways and outcome-based measurement of training programmes, it added.
To address this, the report proposed sector-specific AI interventions to help workers adapt to technological change. In the automobile sector, it recommended creating a Chennai-Hosur Auto AI Skilling Corridor, where major manufacturers could partner with the Tamil Nadu Skill Development Corporation to develop factory-floor AI training modules based on real industrial deployment.
The study also called for AI integration across the education system. It proposes computational thinking in primary classes, AI awareness modules in secondary school, and a mandatory AI literacy course across all undergraduate programmes.
Further, the SPC stressed on three priorities: geographically-targeted AI skilling programmes, inclusion of informal workers through existing welfare and industry networks, and mandatory Tamil-language interfaces for AI tools, ensuring accessibility across sectors employing predominantly Tamil-speaking workers.
The report also recommended establishing an AI Workforce Intelligence Unit, creating a Tamil Nadu AI Readiness Index, and setting up AI clinics in MSME districts to help smaller firms adopt AI.