Get Ready to Learn: Nine in 10 IT Jobs Will Change Because of AI Skills

Nine out of 10 IT jobs will change significantly because of artificial intelligence—but IT workers and employers can prepare by focusing on some of the top 10 AI skills expected to rise in demand.

And while demand for AI skills like prompt engineering and large language models will increase, the biggest increase in relevance will be for skills in AI ethics and responsible AI, according to a SkyHive by Cornerstone analysis for the AI-Enabled ICT Workforce Consortium.

IT managers and HR leaders are already struggling with the talent management issues around AI, including how they will recruit, engage, and retain AI-savvy staff. Understanding the changes AI will bring at a skill level is critical if skills-based workforce planning is going to benefit IT departments.

The new report from the consortium, using SkyHive by Cornerstone data, looks at how the rise of AI will change 47 key roles in the IT industry, from managers to technical writers. The consortium includes major tech employers such as Cisco, Accenture, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, SAP, and Google. Collectively, these firms have pledged to train or upskill 95 million people in AI skills over the next 10 years.

But to prepare workers for artificial intelligence, employers need to know what skills are going to be needed–and what workforce management options will get their workers ready.

That’s why the consortium report comes with specific upskilling and reskilling recommendations for each job family examined. The report calls on other employers, governments, and educators to adopt similar learning and development programs.

“When equipped with the right skills, workers can secure positions in the AI-transformed workforce, leading to enhanced job security, and economic stability. By investing in comprehensive training programs and fostering a culture of continuous learning, organizations can unlock the full potential of their current and future workforce, drive inclusive growth, and lift communities at large,” the report said.

IT jobs are particularly likely to be changed by AI (for comparison, an International Monetary Fund paper says 40% of global jobs overall are susceptible to AI changes). But even in IT, not all roles will see the same impact.

The consortium report divides up the industry into high-impact roles (like Technical Writers and Customer Service Representatives), moderate-impact roles (such as Java Developers and Quality Assurance Analysts), and low-impact (Network Support Technicians).

When you look at the impact by job families, jobs in Business and Management, Design and User Experience, and Testing and Quality Assurance will see the greatest impact. In many cases, however, this isn’t about losing jobs but about AI taking over routine tasks, working in conjunction with human staff.

By contrast, 40% roles in Infrastructure and Operations Development will see low rates of change, because the skills needed to maintain hardware aren’t likely to use Generative AI, the report said.

Source: The Transformational Opportunity of AI on ICT Jobs.

Many of these changes will affect entry-level roles, the report said. For example, chatbots can take over some customer service duties, while other AI systems can run quality checks on software or conduct basic data analysis. In fact, 37% of entry-level roles will see high rates of change.

Given the vast potential impact of AI, it’s not surprising that AI ethics and responsible AI lead the skills expected to increase in relevance. In fact all IT roles examined will demand AI ethics and AI literacy skills, the report found.

Many of these changes will affect entry-level roles, the report said. For example, chatbots can take over some customer service duties, while other AI systems can run quality checks on software or conduct basic data analysis. In fact, 37% of entry-level roles will see high rates of change.

Given the vast potential impact of AI, it’s not surprising that AI ethics and responsible AI lead the skills expected to increase in relevance. In fact all IT roles examined will demand AI ethics and AI literacy skills, the report found.

But if some skills are becoming more important in the age of AI, others will become less important–even long-established programming languages like SQL and Perl. And any skill with “manual” in its name is likely to be less in demand.

Source: The Transformational Opportunity of AI on ICT Jobs

SkyHive’s analysis of skills, based on its Knowledge Graph of labor data covering more than 150 countries and territories in 11 languages, was essential in providing the granular detail necessary for the report.

For more details, read the full consortium report, “The Transformational Opportunity of AI on ICT Jobs.”

Are you an IT executive or skills transformation leader looking for ways to get ahead of the workforce implications of artificial intelligence? There are proven skills transformation models to follow. Contact SkyHive for more information on how skills-based planning allows organizations to meet new challenges and strengthen the bottom line.