Your Guide to the Top AI Skills and Where to Find Them

Since the explosion of ChatGPT onto the world stage in 2022, AI has evolved rapidly. Businesses are doing everything they can to keep up and are really only beginning to scratch the surface of how they can leverage AI to truly transform their company. To keep pace and stay ahead of their competitors, they will first have to overcome the current key challenge: finding AI-skilled professionals to drive business success in this space and navigate inevitable challenges ahead.

G-P’s 2024 AI at Work report reveals that fewer than 2% of executives believe their organizations have the right people for AI implementation and monitoring. We help you hire, onboard, and manage talent from around the world, offering tools like our Talent Supply Dashboard, which provides valuable insights into current global talent hubs. Let’s dig deeper into the AI skills shortage and its impact:

What’s driving the AI skills shortage?

“The rapid pace of AI development often outstrips the rate at which educational institutions can train new professionals,” explained Pooja Chugh, Director of Talent Acquisition at G-P. Chugh also noted that while companies are investing a lot of money in AI, this creates a lot of competition for a limited supply of skilled professionals, and as a result, talent acquisition becomes more challenging.

Our recent AI at Work research shows that 51% of business leaders believe their employees lack the knowledge to effectively use AI. This finding echoed a survey conducted by IBM of around 300 CEOs of retail, corporate, commercial, investment banks, and financial market companies which discovered that 53% are struggling to find suitable candidates for AI-linked roles.

The IBM survey also noted that 50% of the 300 CEOS said they were hiring for positions that did not exist before the introduction of the AI.

What are the advantages of starting to hire for AI skills early?

Companies that become early adopters of AI can reap enormous benefits. Chugh outlined that, just like the advent of the internet, the benefits of AI to businesses can be truly transformative. She believes that companies that use AI to drive growth, manage costs, and deliver greater value to customers will pull ahead.

“Hiring AI talent early allows companies to build a strong foundation for future AI initiatives,” said Chugh. “Early adopters with AI experts are more likely to innovate and develop cutting-edge solutions that differentiate them from competitors. This can lead to new products, services, or business models that give them a competitive edge.”

What are the best AI skills to hire for?

Companies should prioritize hiring for key AI skills such as machine learning, data science and analytics, natural language processing (NLP), AI ethics and fairness, and big data and cloud computing.

• Machine learning: Machine learning requires deep technical expertise and has a big skills gap at the moment. It is at the core of most AI systems in various industries, such as finance, healthcare, and e-commerce. Having someone on your team who knows machine learning can help automate tasks, forecast outcomes, and add machine learning-powered features like recommendation systems and image recognition capabilities to products. 
• Data science and analytics skills: This is essential for gaining insights and shaping the models that power AI decision-making. In 2023, the World Economic Forum listed Data Analysts and Scientists roles as one of the top 10 jobs expected to grow the fastest between 2023 and 2027. A professional with data science and analytical skills can uncover trends, run simulations, create interactive dashboards, and profile customer segments based on behavior.
• Natural language processing (NLP): Expertise in NLP is central to creating systems where humans can interact with AI. A professional with NLP skills can develop chatbots to respond to customer queries, create tools that can accurately transcribe spoken language into text, and build models that automatically analyze large legal documents for compliance.
• AI ethics: As AI becomes more integrated into our lives, it’s important to consider ethical aspects like bias, fairness, and transparency, especially in areas like healthcare, finance, and law. Consider hiring someone with AI ethics skills to help identify biases in AI models, ensure fairness, avoid discrimination, advise on data collection, and provide AI ethics training.
• Big cloud and data computing: These skills are essential for handling and processing large datasets, which is key for training complex AI models and making AI accessible. Hiring a professional with big cloud and data computing skills means having someone on your team who can design scalable cloud architectures, support batch processing and real-time data streams, and build and optimize data pipelines for machine learning workflows.

What countries are investing in AI?

As AI becomes more popular, some countries are investing in the technology and the skills required to master it, aiming to position themselves as future sources of skilled professionals in the field.

Machine learning:

• Big U.S. companies like Google, Facebook, OpenAI, and Microsoft are investing heavily in machine learning. According to Statista, the machine learning market in the U.S. is expected to be worth USD 134.20 billion by 2030.
• China is driving significant investments in machine learning, aiming to become an AI global leader by 2030. Language models like Baidu’s ERNIE Bot, Alibaba’s AI chatbots, and Tencent’s AI models are being used in smart cities and industries like healthcare, education, and e-commerce.
• Recruitment firm Randstad reports that India boasts around 200,000 machine learning professionals. The country’s proficiency in the English language also makes it an attractive destination for talent acquisition.

Data science and analytics skills:

• The UK government is developing specialist data skills, including funding worth GBP 117 million, to train PhD students at AI centers starting in 2024 or 2025.
• In Romania, a startup built the world’s first AI-based government advisor, highlighting the country’s abilities in the technology sector. AI’s role is to report how public opinion reacts to key events and policies.
• Brazil is quickly emerging as a leading AI hub. Several exciting projects are underway using AI in the country, including in Sao Paulo schools where AI is streamlining tasks like assignment corrections, test scoring, and providing student guidance.

Natural language processing (NLP): 

• The UAE is aiming to train 1 million people in AI prompting over the next three years, making the country one of the leading locations for AI in the world.
• France hosts over 600 AI startups. World-class institutions like the French National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control (INRIA) are making significant contributions to various AI subfields, including NLP. 
• In Japan, the government and major tech firms like NEC, Fujitsu, and SoftBank are investing hundreds of millions of dollars to develop AI systems that use the Japanese language directly, rather than relying on English translations.

AI ethics: 

• The 2024 Global Index on Responsible AI ranks the Netherlands as the top country internationally. The country has also launched a collaboration with the UN’s culture and education agency UNESCO that aims to equip European countries with the tools for AI governance. 
• In Spain, the government has shown its commitment to overseeing and regulating AI by approving the Statute of the Spanish AI Supervision Agency. This agency’s primary goal is to ensure that AI is used safely, ethically, and for the benefit of society in Spain. 
• In Mexico, the senate established a National Artificial Intelligence Alliance last year. The plan covers government policies, education and job opportunities, cybersecurity, data infrastructure, and innovation.

Big cloud and data computing:

• In Singapore, the government promotes cloud computing with its Government Commercial Cloud (CCC) service, enabling public sector agencies to manage and secure their use of AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure easily. 
• Ireland is a central tech hub, with Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and IBM establishing their European headquarters there. According to the European Commission’s DESI Index, Ireland was the fifth most advanced digital economy in 2022. 
• Argentina is investing in AI and aiming to be a leader in the space. The country’s president recently spoke about building data centers in Patagonia due to its vast open land and cold temperatures, which are ideal for these centers as they require enormous energy and cooling.

How G-P can help you access emerging AI skills

“The rise of AI is leading to increased competition for talent, greater diversity in AI development, and more localized AI solutions,” said Chugh. “As these trends continue, we can expect the global AI talent market to become even more dynamic and inclusive, with new hubs emerging in unexpected places.” 

Thanks to G-P’s extensive global expertise across 180+ countries worldwide and our best-in-class Employer of Record and global employment products, you’ll be able to quickly hire, onboard and manage the AI-skilled professionals you need to match your unique business needs and goals.

To learn more about how AI impacts the world of work, download our AI report today.