IT leaders: What’s the gameplan as tech badly outpaces talent?

Offering this kind of training to employees could be a recruiting advantage for companies. According to Korn Ferry’s global workforce survey of 10,000 professionals, released in late October, development opportunities were the fourth most important factor in accepting a new job offer, after flexible working hours, generous compensation, and job security. However, only 32% of companies say they plan to focus on upskilling current employees to address skill gaps.

To help address the skills shortage, the public sector is also stepping up. For example, the District of Columbia has already invested $1.2 million in AI training programs for DC residents, including data science, Python, and other areas. And students don’t pay for these classes.

“We pay people to go into these trainings, and then connect them with an internship or apprenticeship where for six months we pay their wages, and they get their experience,” says Unique Morris-Hughes, director of the Department of Employment Services for the District of Columbia. “When they complete the program, they’re ready to go right into the field.”

The accelerating pace of change

What makes gen AI different from other major tech revolutions is that the AI itself can be used to help meet the challenges it creates.

“Unlike any other technology, you can talk to it like a person,” says Adam Paulisick, professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business. “This single shift has led to more receptivity, adoption, and faster training than any other technology we have.”

And the changes are cumulative and unpredictable, he adds. “In three to five years, people might just have an agent, and websites become unnecessary,” he says. “Those kinds of nonlinear changes are hard to understand right now.”