Nearly half the workforce will need to update their skills to keep up with AI

The overwhelming expansion AI has had over the last few years has already dramatically shifted the workforce. According to a recent report, almost half of the workforce will need to update their skills to keep up with this change.

Streamlining approaches through automation is perhaps the biggest benefit artificial intelligence (AI) has had on the workforce. While there are certainly many positives this technology can bring, refreshing skills will also become an integral part of development.

According to IBM’s Augmented work for an automated, AI-driven world report, it is estimated that 40 per cent of the workforce will require reskilling to keep up with AI advancement over the next three years.

Put quite simply by IBM: “AI won’t replace people – but people who use AI will replace people who don’t.”

The report claims that AI will “upend traditional business models”. While this may seem like a scary thought, it actually opens the doors to new opportunities that can be utilised if the correct implementation is followed.

IBM notes that there have been a variety of responses to the rise in AI. Some leaders have reorganised the approach to training by elevating the prioritisation of AI-related skills while deprioritising those that have become obsolete. Meanwhile, other leaders have turned their attention to hiring, closing talent gaps by securing skilled workers.

While these approaches may seem appropriate, IBM says they’re only short-term solutions, and organisations must look to the future if they’re to be successful in the new world of work. So, what needs to be done to achieve this? According to IBM, many of the tasks needed today won’t be necessary in the future of work, and leaders need to understand this.

Businesses will survive this transition and thrive in what some are dubbing the “augmented workforce” by realising that things are going to be permanently altered, and preparing for it. According to research from the World Economic Forum (WEF), 85 million jobs will be lost due to AI over the next five years. However, 97 million more will be created.

If organisations begin to understand the enormous impact this technology will have on the workforce and begin leveraging these systems now, they will ensure that they’re not left behind when the augmented future of work becomes a reality.

Upskilling and reskilling will play an important role in this transition, as 44 per cent of workers’ skills are expected to be disrupted over the next five years. Similarly, six in 10 workers will require training before 2027, yet just half have access to these opportunities.

Taking advantage of this need for skills expansion could be what helps usher businesses into the augmented workforce.