The Future of Jobs report, anticipates the creation of 12 million more jobs through AI by 2025 than the number likely to be displaced.
The rapid advancement and widespread adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) across industries have led to an unprecedented surge in demand for AI professionals. As organisations scramble to harness the power of AI, the race to attract and retain top AI talent has intensified, creating both challenges and opportunities in the recruitment sector.
A recent survey by Goldman Sachs via the BBC stated that AI may replace 300 million jobs, and workers aged 18-24 are 129% more likely than workers aged over 65 to worry that AI will make their job obsolete. McKinsey have estimated that by 2030, 14% of employees will have been forced to change their career because of AI.
Due to this, and according to the 2024 Randstad Enterprise Talent Trends research, 80% of companies are now prioritising becoming skills-based organisations this year, with a particular emphasis on AI and related technologies.
This shift is driven by several factors:
- Digital transformation: 56% of talent leaders feel digital transformation is moving too fast, and they can’t keep up.
- Skills scarcity: The top challenges talent leaders expect to face are increased competition for hard-to-find skills (34%) and growing scarcity of specialty skills (32%).
- Business value: According to Deloitte, companies that invest in AI outperform others in stock returns for up to eight quarters after the investments.
To address the growing demand for AI professionals, recruiters and businesses are employing various strategies:
- Internal talent development: 80% of companies are placing more emphasis on investing in employee skill development and career engagement.
- Skills-based hiring: moving towards a skills-based model to meet the need, with 80% of companies prioritising this initiative.
- Technology investments: 65% of talent leaders report investing in internal talent mobility technologies.
- Employer branding: showcasing innovation and the opportunity to work with cutting-edge AI technologies to attract top talent.
- Competitive compensation packages: offering attractive salaries and benefits to attract the right type of talent suitable for AI roles.
Ironically, AI itself is playing a crucial role in identifying and recruiting AI experts, with companies and recruiters leveraging AI-powered tools and platforms to streamline their recruitment processes:
- AI-Enhanced job descriptions
- Advanced AI matching tools
- Human-like conversational chatbots
As the field of AI continues to advance, the strategies for recruiting AI talent will likely evolve as well. Businesses that stay agile, embrace technological innovations in recruitment, and prioritise continuous learning and development will be best positioned to succeed in the ongoing race for top AI talent.
