AI can turn blue-collar into gold: Anand Mahindra

Young India Skills University in Telangana is a pioneering institution preparing India's youth for a future that blends high-tech proficiency with vocational mastery, says Mahindra Group Chairman

New Delhi: Artificial intelligence is not a threat but a catalyst that will elevate practical skills into premium assets, offering income, dignity and transforming factory work into long-term relevance and a lucrative gold-collar profession, Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra said on Wednesday.

In his New Year message to employees of the group, he disagreed with the fear of disruption that many people have as AI reshapes industries. “When technology amplifies skilled hands, those hands can become as rewarding, if not more rewarding, than traditional white-collar work. AI can turn blue collar into gold,” Mahindra noted.

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As AI reshapes industries, he said, “Many fear disruption. I respectfully disagree. I believe AI is an accelerator, not a threat”.

Elaborating his point, Mahindra said, “As intelligent systems take over routine tasks, practical skills, accelerated by AI, will become premium assets, offering income, dignity and raising blue collar work to a new level of long-term relevance”.

“AI will bring about a fundamental shift in the value of ‘hands-on’ skills: a technician who can work confidently alongside AI, a machinist who understands digital tools, and a craftsperson whose intuition is enhanced by data will change the world of shop floor work.” Mahindra predicted that “we will rediscover the value of people who can build, craft, repair, and operate real machinery of life”.

“I am proud that we are walking the talk in this domain,” he wrote to the group employees.

Referring to his recent acceptance of the role of Chairman of the Board of Governors of Young India Skills University in Telangana, Mahindra said the institution is a pioneering one designed to prepare India’s youth for a world where high-tech proficiency must be paired with vocational mastery.

The group is committed to strengthening the talent pipeline that the world needs — from the Mahindra Tractors Skill Development Centres to Tech Mahindra’s future-ready talent academies, he added.

On the road ahead in the new year, he said, “The world may be unpredictable, with technology evolving and geopolitics shifting. But uncertainty is not our enemy, it is our proving ground”.

Equipped with sharper capabilities, greater skills, and an unwavering commitment to nurturing world-class talent, he said, “We will not just navigate the storm, we will chart new courses for growth”.

Asserting that the future belongs to those who build it, Mahindra said, “Let’s build it together”. Reflecting on 2025, he said it was a year of market leadership and redefined expectations.

He highlighted the group’s success in SUV, farm equipment, electric three-wheeler and Mahindra Finance businesses, while Tech Mahindra sharpened its edge on AI and operational excellence. For decades, Mahindra was seen as a homegrown brand known for rugged dependability, he said, adding that “today, we are perceived as modern, confident and future-ready”.

Mahindra credited the group’s EV venture for “not just changing the portfolio” but for changing the conversation and signalling that “Mahindra is mastering frontier technologies and shaping the future of mobility”.