The rise of AI talent and members adding AI skills to their LinkedIn profiles has been accelerating notably since 2016.
In 2023, AI is all anyone in tech can talk about.
The LinkedIn Market Research team surveys members daily to understand how they’re feeling about their careers, finances, and more. The latest Workforce Confidence Index, which reflects this data, shows that, as the workforce gains confidence post-pandemic, half of Canadians now have an interest in learning AI skills.
As AI tech continues to go mainstream, workers who train AI skills early and often may be ahead of the curve when it comes to the future of work, experts assert.
“It is becoming clear that AI-empowered professionals will outpace those who don’t take advantage of this era of transformation,” Thomson Reuters chief executive officer Steve Hasker stated recently.
According to Microsoft’s 2023 Work Trend Index Annual Report, more than two-thirds of people intend to delegate as much work as possible to AI.
Even those who are not interested may be forced to hop aboard. According to WCI data, nearly half of executives in Canada intend to implement or increase AI integration within just the next year.
In some ways, AI is still a niche. Of 38,000 specialties listed in LinkedIn’s taxonomy of skillsets, just over 100 are considered AI skills. Yet at the same time, AI is everywhere already and its presence is only growing still.
Looking back at regional workforces that have gained the most AI skill since 2016, LinkedIn’s recent “Future of Work” report found Singapore to rank first globally, followed by Australia, Belgium, and Brazil. In fifth place ranks Canada, which experienced a 1,300% increase in workers with AI skills listed on LinkedIn.
Upskilling for AI is increasingly popular but may soon change, experts believe—as the process adapts to, and becomes influenced by, modern AI tech itself.
A Thomson Reuters survey pointed out the potential of AI to revolutionize training methods, reducing human intervention and paving the way for autonomous learning. TR’s “Future of Professionals” report forecasts a paradigm shift in training methodologies within the next few years.
“An evolution of this magnitude will require us all to step out of our comfort zones and reassess spending allocation in key areas such as real estate, training, and hiring to better ensure we are keeping pace with emerging technology investment,” Hasker said.
“Focus on retaining, attracting, training, and upskilling talent should remain a top-of-agenda organizational issue … especially as we put more emphasis on the tech changes that are disrupting all industries,” the CEO added.
Overall, tech talent appears bullish on AI, especially in Canada, where the workforce is educated and skilled.
