AI-vaardigheden zijn een waardevolle troef geworden

Dit artikel is geschreven door SThree in het Engels.

The typical narrative on AI and jobs focuses on its disruptive potential – and yes, the jobs landscape will change.

But many leading experts say the net effect will be positive. A major UK study in 2023 found that technology adoption over the past three years has boosted jobs . And according to Gartner, AI could generate as many as half a billion additional jobs globally by 2033.

That’s good news for anyone concerned about AI’s impact on society. But for business leaders and hiring managers it creates a major challenge: where can they find the skills their organisation needs to thrive in an AI-powered world?

It’s an increasingly urgent question. There’s a shortage of STEM talent, which means that many employers are already struggling to find the tech skills they need. Forbes research shows that in 2023 93% of UK firms encountered an IT skills gap in the jobs market, and AI and machine learning expertise are the most sought-after skills.

Industry responds to the AI skills shortage

The pressure on businesses will only increase. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report supports Forbes’ finding that AI and machine learning specialists are the jobs that are growing fastest . As a business leader, you will be right to ask how the supply of talent can keep up with the soaring demand.

There are no easy answers or instant fixes, which is why the tech industry is now coming together to find solutions. Led by Cisco and comprising tech heavyweights including IBM, Google, Microsoft and SAP, the AI-Enabled ICT Workforce Consortium was created in April 2024 to assess how AI impacts jobs – and what it means for reskilling and upskilling workers.

The industry is also unveiling major investments in AI skills. Google, for instance, has announced a €25m AI Opportunity Initiative for Europe that helps people across the continent – and not just its own employees – to develop AI skills.

But AI skills education is not only the responsibility of tech industry giants, says Timo Lehne, CEO of SThree. Every company should carry out AI upskilling to ease their own AI skills shortages.

AI + commercial skills = true value

But AI’s impact won’t be limited to the types of jobs available to tech professionals, according to Christophe Lienard, Group Chief Innovation Officer at the French engineering multinational Bouygues.

“We have an IT organisation of more than 3,000 people,” says Lienard. “We already have the right [tech] expertise. We need strong expertise, but we also need people with the right mindset. We need people who understand the complexity of our business and the possibility of AI.”

So the experts that thrive in the AI era won’t just have great technical skills. They will bring curiosity, optimism and a passion for using technology to expand the boundaries of what’s possible.

Bouygues won’t build large language models itself, because there are high-quality tools available from the likes of Google and Mistral. That’s why its talent strategy will focus on finding people who can see AI’s potential. “We need people who understand the right way forward for our business,” says Lienard. “So we can use off-the-shelf AI.”

That understanding of AI’s potential starts from the top: “Before we start to interact with AI, we need a clear view of what we want to do,” says Lienard. “We can’t ask the machine to decide that for us.” That’s why AI-savvy leadership is essential.

SThree CEO Timo Lehne agrees that employers will be keen to hire tech professionals who can use technical skills in a commercial way. “There’s a growing need for talent that helps organisations understand how to create value from AI,” says Lehne. “In the years ahead, this will be one of the biggest opportunities for tech professionals with a commercial mindset.”

So, as AI changes job requirements for companies and employees, what do companies need to do right now?

Three steps forward for business leaders

1. Define your AI strategy

How is your company using AI today, and how will your use of AI evolve? A clear ambition will shape your technology and people strategies, and this will help you to recruit for AI.  

2. Develop your skills framework

To plan for the talent needs of your AI-powered business, you need a framework to define and understand those future roles and skills. Based on your emerging AI strategy, what are the roles you will need?

3. Re-engineer your people strategy

Where will you find the talent that’s mission-critical for your business? Think about how to develop it internally, as well as how to attract it externally in an intensely competitive jobs market.

Bron: STEM sells: AI skills have become a high-value currency

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