Vendor coalition calls for major reskilling as 92 per cent of technology roles evolve

A new report analyses AI’s impact on top technology jobs, outlining immediate training opportunities

An alliance of technology vendors have found that over 92 per cent of ICT-related job roles are expected to undergo either high or moderate transformation due to advancements in AI.

The inaugural Transformational Opportunity of AI on ICT Jobs report brings to light the real impact AI will have on the IT workforce.

The findings, which have come from the AI-Enabled ICT Workforce Consortium, launched in April and led by Cisco, look at the effects of AI on 47 ICT jobs, offering training recommendations to enable an AI-powered workforce.

The consortium includes Cisco, Accenture, Eightfold, Google, IBM, Indeed, Intel, Microsoft and SAP.

Highlights from the report show that entry-level and mid-level ICT professionals are at the forefront of AI transformation with 40 per cent of mid-level positions and 37 per cent of entry level positions expected to have high levels of transformation.

As AI continues to redefine job functions, certain skills will rise in importance, such as AI ethics, responsible AI, prompt engineering, AI literacy, Large Language Models (LLM) architecture and agile methodologies.

Meanwhile others may become less relevant, including traditional data management, content creation, documentation maintenance, basic programming and languages, and research information.

Additionally, the report said foundational skills are needed across ICT job roles for AI preparedness, including AI literacy, data analytics and prompt engineering.

"At IBM, we have been investing in the future of work through access to education and training opportunities for decades. The findings of this report further highlight the significant need for upskilling and reskilling, particularly with the rise of AI," said Lydia Logan, VP of global education and workforce development at IBM.

"Now, those in the ICT sector — from students to workers to employers — have the data about which jobs will change, how they will change, and what individuals and employers can do to prepare for this shift and remain competitive in the evolving global labour market."

Christy Pambianchi, EVP and chief people officer at Intel added: "We believe AI represents a paradigm shift with great potential to deliver new opportunities and tools, and our goal is to advance AI responsibly to help solve the world's most significant challenges.

"Training, upskilling and reskilling workers on how to collaborate with AI and be critical thinkers is vital to our workforce and our next generation of innovation."