With demand for advanced skills like artificial intelligence rising, the technology sector will need over 1 million engineers over the next two to three years, the Bengaluru-based National Association of Software & Service Companies (Nasscom) has said.

The sector needs to reskill more than half of its existing workforce to take up jobs in fields such as AI, big data analytics, and cyber-security, said Sangeeta Gupta, senior vice president and chief strategy officer at the industry body. New college graduates will only be able to fill a quarter of the advanced tech jobs needed, she added.

“Employability of the workforce is a huge challenge and will require a fair amount of work,” the Nasscom executive said in an interview. “The industry can’t do with a one-time up-skilling, it has to be a continuous journey amid a fast changing digital landscape.”

The $250-billion tech sector employs 5.4 million people, which is around 7.5 per cent of the country’s GDP.

IT companies like Tata Consultancy Services are reportedly finding it difficult to fill positions because of a wide mismatch between the skills available and the sector’s requirements. This is a challenge that Indian IT businesses are facing against global rivals such as International Business Machines and Accenture.