IT Leaders’ AI Talent Needs Hinge On Reskilling

Most organizations see the need to revamp their training programs to address AI skills shortages — an approach that delivers intangibles hiring can’t provide.

CIOs and HR managers are changing their equations on hiring and training, with a bigger focus on reskilling current employees to make good on the promise of AI technologies.

That shift is in no small part due to an AI talent market increasingly stacked against them. With AI talent in high demand, the shortage of AI technicians available will only get worse, some hiring experts say, as job postings for workers with AI expertise are growing 3.5 times faster than for all jobs, according to a recent PwC report.

Worse, university pipelines don’t appear to be providing relief anytime soon. Although some colleges already offer AI classes, many haven’t had time to create new programs to meet the increased demand from the new AI boom, which started with the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022.

“We’re going to have much more demand than we have supply, at least until people start to skill up, and at least until universities start to have graduates who come out with expertise,” says Malavika Sagar, senior vice president and CHRO at TE Connectivity, a manufacturer of sensors and parts used in appliances, wearable devices, intelligent buildings, vehicles, and military aircraft. “I do believe we’re going to have a little bit of a crunch here for the next four to five years.”

As a result, organizations such as TE Connectivity are launching internal training programs to reskill IT and other employees about AI. Such programs, IT and HR leaders believe, will give their organizations added benefits that a hiring-heavy approach to AI needs isn’t likely to provide.

Rethinking talent strategies

To address its AI crunch, TE Connectivity just launched a four-tier training program that will range from basic education about AI and how to use it in office jobs to ways engineers can use AI to help design specific products. The company is also working with universities on AI-based product design challenges for students.[…]