Two thirds of recruitment leaders noted hiring candidates with AI skills is more challenging than recruiting for other tech roles, with virtually all respondents saying finding candidates with both the soft and technical skills to thrive in tech is significantly more challenging.
The findings come from General Assembly’s State of Tech Talent report, revealing 68 per cent of enterprises have to offer higher salaries to candidates with AI skills, an increase from 64 per cent reported last year.
The survey was taken from 500 HR professionals worldwide, to better understand evolving AI skills and implement innovative reskilling and upskilling initiatives.
Additional findings note that over three quarters of tech hiring leaders are concerned that the procedures they’ve followed to hire skilled AI workers wasn’t sustainable to build a long-lasting, diverse pipeline of talent.
Six in ten organisations surveyed noted an increased need for AI skills has correlated with a heightened need for diversity initiatives, as building a diverse workforce from varying backgrounds is beneficial when implementing AI strategies.
Sachin Agrawal, Managing Director for Zoho UK: “Artificial Intelligence is already having a transformative impact on businesses, enabling efficiencies in areas like data analysis, fraud detection and forecasting which deliver tangible benefits to people and organisations. However, the path to broader AI adoption is not without challenges. The growing shortage of AI talent at executive level raises concerns around the future of AI including its ethical use which includes consideration of data privacy. This knowledge gap isn’t only a technical oversight, it is a serious risk.”
“As AI adoption accelerates, global collaboration will be required to equip the workforce with the skills to navigate an AI-driven future.ย Government, regulators, educators, and industry leaders must work together to establish comprehensive training frameworks that ensure workers at all levels, technical and non-technical, understand AI’s capabilities, risks, and ethical implications and can use it effectively in the right way. This includes integrating AI literacy into education systems, developing upskilling programs, and ensuring that AI proficiency is accessible to all, preventing skill gaps that could widen economic and social divides.”
Despite this, with various companies scaling back on their DEI policies and practices, hiring leaders raised inevitable concerns around the potential impacts this can have on hiring, with over 45 per cent of respondents noting this could raise costs per-hire or lead to higher employee turnover. This aligns withy research from Glassdoor which found prospective employees are more likely to accept a role with a company whose DEI values align with their own.
Stuart Harvey, CEO of Datactics commented: “Enterprise businesses are keen to secure AI talent but are overlooking the fundamental truth that AI is only as good as the data it learns from. Hiring challenges are becoming an increasing problem, but businesses should consider investing in upskilling their existing teams in data management, governance and quality to improve data readiness.”
“AI is only as effective as the data it processes and without structured, accurate and well-governed data, businesses risk AI systems that are flawed. The rush to deploy AI without a strong data foundation is a costly mistake and in a competitive AI landscape, only those who get their data right will be the ones who thrive.”
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