(Finance) – The development ofartificial intelligence is increasingly transforming the job market. Many entrepreneurs and managers are implementing this innovation and are in favor of its use, but this requires new skills and talents adapted to emerging challenges and opportunities. They were born like this new job positions and some of those already existing have included the topic of AI in the skills sought. In the first quarter of 2024 the demand for figures specialized in AI by companies, compared to the same period of the previous year, has almost doubled (+88%). A fact that confirms how these figures are becoming increasingly attractive on the market and will be increasingly so in the future. This is what emerges from acquisition of Hays Italia, an international recruiting company.
Many companies have already moved to exploit AI in their organizations: around 20% of professionals, in fact, say they already use Generative AI technologies or tools, especially young people. Only almost two out of ten companies are against its use in the workplace, mainly because they do not understand the benefits or because they fear the security risks, and a small proportion (6%) have banned the use of AI in the workplace. But companies also need to consider the potential impact AI has on current employment. On this point, LMost companies do not yet have a clear strategy (46%) or is waiting for evaluations before taking action (38%). Only very few are offering employees training programs to upgrade/reskill their skills (6%) or are informing employees about current and future relevant policy (4%). Furthermore, seven out of ten companies still do not have a specific internal policy regarding the creation of content and materials through the use of AI technologies.
But – the investigation continues – there is still a certain distrust with the sample, entrepreneurs and managers and employees, equally divided between those who consider themselves worried (47%) and those who are not at all (53%). This is probably because for over a third of employees, AI will eliminate more job opportunities than it will create.
Yet, there appears to be no total lockdown, as most of the employees (76%) are ready to accept the challenge of a possible change in profession or their field of specialization following new AI developments. Among those who declare themselves in favor of the implementation of this technology, there are those who believe that AI will bring as advantages an increase in productivity and efficiency (57%), a reduction in the risk of human error (42%) and an improved creativity and idea generation (29%).
From the survey, it also emerges that in first quarter, the most sought-after tech figures with artificial intelligence skills include AI Engineer, AI Architect, AI Vision Specialist, AI Ethicist, AI/ML Trust and Safety Manager, Business Analyst, Cloud AI Developer, Machine Learning Developer, and Machine Learning Specialist.
Many existing positions therefore require a continuous updating of skills to fill certain roles. In this regard, according to the Hays Italia survey, currently only 6% of companies offer employee training programs to improve their AI skills, although many professionals (85%) would like to participate in professional refresher and retraining programs on how to include this technology in their work. What is certain is that the application of artificial intelligence will force companies to review their processes and work models, so it will be increasingly necessary to consider the impact of this technology in the organizational phase.