AI isn’t going anywhere, and the sooner we accept that, the sooner we can start taking it in our stride. That’s the thinking over at the AI Workforce Consortium, anyway, which comprises the ten biggest “industry leaders” in the field: Accenture, Cornerstone, Eightfold AI, Google, IBM, Indeed, Intel, Microsoft, SAP, and led by Cisco.
Findings from the Consortium’s most recent study, titled “ICT in Motion: The Next Wave of AI Integration,” show that “7 of the 10 fastest-growing ICT roles are AI-related,” proving just how dominant AI has become in the workforce. The report looks at 50 of the most in-demand ICT (Information and Communications Technology) jobs across G7 countries, including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the United States.
Get with the AI times
That doesn’t mean rolling over and letting AI take over your job completely. The report highlights the importance of hanging onto the people with the necessary skills (and training up new workers) who can use AI to their advantage and take the industry as a whole to new heights. Whether that means adding AI to your workload, or the creation of entirely AI-centric jobs where they otherwise didn’t exist before, with humans still in control.
“As AI reshapes our world and work, people remain at the center,” said Francine Katsoudas, chief people, policy & purpose officer at Cisco. “This year’s report makes clear that AI skills open exciting new doors, but it’s the combination of technical expertise and human strengths like collaboration and leadership that will truly shape a brighter future.”
As AI continues to grow, our mindsets must grow with it. It’s not as simple as writing a good prompt and calling it a day. As AI agents quickly become more prominent, companies are finding themselves increasingly in need of jobs focusing on AI governance (+150%) and AI ethics (+125%), specifically including AI security (+298%), foundation model adaptation (+267%), responsible AI use (+256%), and multi-agent systems (+245%).
Read More: AI in Africa: 5 issues that must be tackled for digital equality
While the report focuses primarily on G7 countries, the entirety of Africa isn’t far behind. That’s why the Consortium has committed to “upskilling and reskilling 95 million individuals worldwide over the next decade.” The Consortium didn’t specify how it would get that money and training to where it needs to go. Until we know more, workers must make do with the Consortium’s new resources, aiming to make the transition easier.
There’s the ‘AI Workforce Playbook‘, which offers a “guide to align workforce development with business and AI goals, featuring real-world use cases and data-driven insights.” The ‘Updated Learning Recommendations‘ is a database of 200+ courses with “job-specific guidance” on the sort of skills companies are already looking for when it comes to AI. An ‘AI Skills Glossary‘ is also available.
“The data is clear: AI skills are essential for today’s jobs,” said Lisa Gevelber, founder of Grow with Google. “Google is committed to helping people access the most advanced technology and the training needed to ensure everyone has the opportunity to thrive in the AI era.”
