The speed of industrial technological development far exceeds that of the training and education that is necessary to use it. The Up-Skill project is aiming to equip organisations with information to allow them to implement the appropriate technologies and identify the skills and training requirements that will allow them to flourish in the digital age.
Despite significant workforce reductions, various industries, including high-tech, healthcare, construction, hospitality, and others, are grappling with a profound shortage of proficient workers, surpassing the training capacity of educational institutions.
Whilst most organisations have heavily invested in AI, over half lack the necessary in-house expertise to effectively implement their strategies. The AI Skills Gap report highlighted that 93% of US and UK organisations prioritise AI as a business focal point, with ongoing or planned projects. However, 51% admit the absence of the essential skilled AI personnel in-house, hindering the realisation of their strategies. The primary barrier remains the scarcity of skilled talent, followed by budget constraints, inadequate technology access, and insufficient useful data.
Enterprises like Amazon, Ericsson, and PwC are fervently investing in upskilling and reskilling programs to enhance their workforce's AI capabilities. For instance, Amazon's 'Machine Learning University' equips employees with machine learning expertise, opening its doors to individuals regardless of their location or skillset.
Specific sectors heavily influenced by AI integration encompass finance, utilising AI for fraud detection, algorithmic trading, risk management, customer service chatbots, and credit scoring. Similarly, manufacturing relies on AI for optimising production workflows, predictive maintenance, quality control, and smart factory implementation. Retail leverages AI for personalised recommendations, demand forecasting, inventory management, customer service chatbots, and cashier-less stores. Marketing and advertising capitalise on AI for targeted advertising, customer segmentation, content optimisation, and marketing campaign analytics. And entertainment harnesses AI for content recommendation, virtual reality experiences, video game development, and AI-generated music and art creation.
However, AI advancement faces a bottleneck due to a global shortage of skilled workers in deep learning, natural language processing, and robotic process automation. The limited talent pool fuels high demand, leading to inter-departmental competition for software programmers and IT developers possessing coveted expertise.
Finding individuals with the requisite hard skills, technical expertise, and soft skills like strong collaboration for top-tier AI roles is arduous. Recent graduates often lack the essential business acumen and leadership experience vital for managing widespread AI implementation. As AI matures within organisations, integrating diverse personnel and perspectives becomes imperative.
Human involvement remains critical for the success of any digital transformation initiative. AI streamlines mundane administrative tasks, freeing up employees to focus on creative, analytical, and strategic endeavours, granting organisations a competitive edge.
Via on-site case studies, Up-Skill researchers aim to provide firms with the information they need to implement digital technologies and AI in line with their business objectives and identify skills gaps and training requirements, so the workforce and management have the necessary know-how to utilise emerging technologies with benefits for the organisation and workforce alike.
Learn more about the skills and training research conducted by Up-Skill here - Download PDF