Accelerating AI Skills: Preparing the Workforce for Jobs of the Future

AWS Global Study on AI skills, 2023-24

Artificial Intelligence (AI) taps into the power of computers and machines to mimic the problem-solving and decision-making capabilities of the human mind. It is already transforming the workplace – from how businesses operate to how work gets done, altering the nature of jobs faster than ever before. While the productivity payoff will be significant, workforces around the world need to prepare themselves for the changes that AI brings with it.

To better understand emerging AI usage trends in the workplace and the skills workers need to be successful in the future, Access Partnership is proudly partnering Amazon Web Services (AWS) on an in-depth global study on the state and importance of AI skills. This study surveys over 10,000 employers, 30,000 employees, and nearly 1,000 educators in 19 markets around the world on their perspectives surrounding AI, its impact on their organisations and careers, and the skills they wish to develop to ride the AI wave.

There are five key insights from this study:

1. Most organisations will use AI by 2028. While IT departments will be the biggest beneficiaries, others such as sales and marketing to human resources will derive significant value as well, including for task automation and improving workflows.
2. Generative AI will transform the way we work, with the vast majority of respondents expecting to benefit from its ability to create new content and ideas.
3. Acquiring AI skills will boost pay across departments, with employers indicating they’d boost salaries for workers with AI skills. Encouragingly, women and older workers express a strong interest in acquiring AI skills to advance their careers.
4. The productivity payoff from an AI-skilled workforce could be immense, with both employers and employees expecting a significant productivity boost from “full adoption” of AI across work functions. It won’t just be ‘tech specialists’, even ‘non-tech’ workers expect to use AI by 2028.
5. The AI skills gap can be reduced through more awareness and training programs, which are the most commonly cited barrier to acquiring AI skills. This is a challenge, as a large share of employers indicate hiring for AI skills as a priority, but that they face difficulties in doing so. Moreover, it’s not just technical skills such as coding – employers believe that using AI well requires critical and creative thinking faculties even more so.

The first reports in this series, covering the US and Canada, were published by AWS in November 2023. The US report and summaries for focus regions may be accessed here. The Canada summary may be accessed here.

The full list of markets covered in this study is below, together with publications expected. Please click the links to access material where available: