I recently took part in a high-profile webinar; hosted by jobs.ac.uk: ‘AI and the Future of Work’.
Researching the topic, I gleaned some interesting insights into the future of work and the impact of Generative AI on jobs. Of course, AI is developing at such speed that this information may quite quickly become out of date. However, for now here are some insights and predictions from the experts that may be of interest.
Employers are looking for AI skills
Increasingly employers are starting to request AI-related skills. In demand currently on jobs boards are data engineers, machine learning engineers , AI data scientists and ‘prompt’ engineers.
A recent report by McKinsey suggested that disruption will be in knowledge-based areas rather than manufacturing- so most impact will fall on more educated workers. It’s the first time that disruption will significantly impact professional level jobs.
Some of the jobs most at risk include areas where AI is growing: creative jobs in journalism, ad agencies, design, music industries, IT, Medicine and Law.
Some roles will become more rewarding as resources shift to focus on higher level skills that humans have. I personally can’t wait to have my own Virtual Assistant.
One reassuring statement in the report said ‘Users of Gen AI can be nearly anyone: you won’t need to be a data scientist or machine learning expert to be effective.’
What are the future skills that professionals need to be trained in?
People skills:
- Creativity
- Analytical (critical) thinking
- Emotional intelligence
- Interpersonal communication skill
- Flexibility
- Self-confidence
- Self-motivation and wellness
Of these skills, flexibility will be key. Many roles will evolve rapidly because of AI. Employees will need to be willing to retrain in the necessary AI technologies to remaining employable. And employers will need to invest in retraining and upskilling their staff.
I was heartened to learn that it’s good news for Arts graduates. Given that AI tries to replicate components of the human experience, those who are balanced in critical thinking, verbal, linguistic, and problem-solving skills are needed. In fact, some organisations are specifically looking for recruits with strong writing skills and experience of interacting with AI tools. (Mckinsey: The economic potential of AI).
Technical skills, not all of which will require a technical background include:
- Digital literacy
- Data literacy
- Linguistic literacy
- AI- enhanced creativity
- Personalisation (customise your own learning experience using AI tools
- Voice-text interaction
- Ethical awareness: understanding the implications on privacy, bias, and social impact
- AI prompts
Possessing some of the following specific skills will certainly increase your desirability to employers.
Familiarity with:
- Programming languages
- Machine learning algorithms
- Deep learning and neural networks
- Data engineering
Graduates will be in high demand.
In a UUK report- Jobs of the Future 88% of new jobs will be at graduate level. By 2035 it is predicted that 11 million extra graduates will be needed:
- 9 STEM professionals
- 2 million Health & Social care assoc. professionals
- 1 million Healthcare professionals
- 1 million teaching and educational professionals
- 3 million more jobs globally for vocational education teachers and university HE teachers will be needed by 2027.
- 2 million business services associated professionals in Advertising and Marketing (more content editors than creators).
Companies are struggling currently to fill some of these vacancies- so there are real issues around how the numbers of staff required will be sourced- and how they will be trained.
To conclude: a key message
‘You won’t be replaced by AI. You will be replaced by a person with AI skills. People fluent in Gen AI will be more creative, efficient, effective, and learn faster.’ (The Keenan Institute of private enterprise).
AI generated image by DALL-E2.
