The talent shortage is not a new phenomenon – in fact, the hiring industry has been nearing this crisis for years. The incidence of difficult-to-fill jobs being met with under-qualified workers has arisen so much so that it’s estimated the shortage will have resulted in $8.5 trillion in unrealized annual revenue by 2030. This dynamic is only being compounded by organizations' ever-growing use of technologies which demands available, highly-skilled workers or training potential candidates.
Artificial intelligence is the main perpetrator in this push-and-pull, and it’s resulting in an almost constant influx of new technologically-focused roles and responsibilities, with little time for candidates' to build or possess the expertise, or have time for training.
Changes In the Workplace
Research by Gartner suggests that AI technology is set to roll out across a wide range of companies in 2020 and reach $4 trillion in value by 2022. This expansion will bring with it a laundry list of roles and responsibilities that will need filling in order for AI to deliver on its promises.
As this proliferation of advanced automation reshapes the working landscape, current employees will require intense re-training and AI education – and they know it. Accenture research shows that 67% of employed Americans realize the importance of developing their own skills to work with AI technology and plan to do so in the next three to five years, just so they can keep up and retain their jobs. Unfortunately, that urgency for an investment in training is only felt by 3% of executives, with the rest reluctant to roll out any intelligent technology education in the near future.
Already there are 400 candidate job searches per every 1,100 AI job listings. As it is, there are only around 300,000 AI professionals worldwide today with an estimated 58,000,000 needed by 2030. That gap is going to be difficult to fill in just over a decade. And, while universities are doing what they can for students by increasing the focus on studies in the area, trends show that the gap will continue to grow as technology outpaces current education and training.
One Hire Thought
In the digital era, technology has an impact on every aspect of life, from transforming communication to re-working processes at lightning speed – with the workplace being no different.
While training is important to expanding a workforce’s skill set to encompass these new technologies, companies and individuals cannot invest in one static educational program. As technology improves and expands, knowledge must evolve and expand with it. Though it may seem a large undertaking, AI and other advanced technology training will give job seekers and job creators a leg up in the battle to remain relevant and competitive in the rapidly approaching future.
