A new study from software giant IBM has found that the tech sector across Germany, Spain and the UK is struggling to find employees with adequate AI knowledge and experience.
According to the study of 500 tech job seekers, 300 tech employees and 200 tech recruiters in those countries, the skills deficit has the potential to stifle digital innovation and hold back economic growth.
IBM said 37% of survey participants cited problem-solving as the most critical soft skill needed for tech roles, while 23% have difficulty in finding applicants with this aptitude along with shortfalls in critical and strategic thinking.
Along with soft skills, 40% of tech job seekers and employees noted that software engineering and knowledge of programming languages are the most important technical capabilities for the AI and tech workforce to have.
“The growing importance of AI across so many industries should provide ample scope for tech sector growth,” said Sharon Moore MBE, global technical lead for government at IBM Technology. “Unfortunately, a shortage of AI skills means that these opportunities can be hard to seize. There’s a clear and disadvantageous gap in the education syllabus, so for now, in-house training from big tech companies, like IBM, needs to be prioritised.”
While Tech employees in Spain and Germany (42%) are given training opportunities on topics including programming languages, software engineering, and data engineering and analysis, the UK falls behind with just 32% of staff receiving such training.
“AI is changing the world by automating decisions, predicting outcomes and optimising employees’ time, yet advances in AI are being slowed by the shortage of workers with skills and experience in areas, the report has brought to light,” Moore continued. “With the right training, education and upskilling, we’ll be able to leverage AI to its full potential and, as a result, generate further value for companies and society.”
The study comes after the UK government announced last February it is injecting £23m of new funding into AI and data conversion courses to encourage more young people from underrepresented groups to join the UK’s AI industry.
