Reskilling the Banking Workforce in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Emerging HRM Priorities and Future Skill Requirements in the Indian BFSI Sector

Abstract: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) industry, affecting job profiles, work procedures and client engagement models. AI-driven automation delivers efficiency and innovation benefits, but it also generates new skill requirements and intensifies the demand for continuous workforce upskilling. Reskilling thus became a key Human Resource Management (HRM) response to AI-driven transformation. This study explores the changing skill requirements of employes in the Indian BFSI sector and the new HRM priorities related to AI adoption. The study adopts a secondary-data-based conceptual review design and synthesizes evidence

including reports from the World Economic Forum, the Reserve Bank of India, and the State Bank of India. The review identifies five broad skill categories that are becoming increasingly important in AI-enabled financial organizations: AI and online literacy, data and analytical skills, cybersecurity and risk-governance capabilities, human-centric skills, and adaptability and continuous learning. Reskilling must integrate technical training with domain knowledge, ethical judgment, critical thinking, and human-oversight capability, the paper argues, and proposes a six-stage HRM reskilling framework — skill-gap identification, role-based mapping, targeted reskilling, internal mobility, continuous capability assessment, and a responsible AI culture — supported by a “Reskill–Redeploy–Retain” strategic model. The results suggest a change from training-oriented HRM to strategic, skill-based, and adaptive talent management in Indian BFSI organizations.

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Reskilling; Human Resource Management; Banking Sector; BFSI; Future Skills; Digital Transformation; Employee Development; India