A new report finds that the majority of UK companies are willing to pay higher wages for candidates with AI skills, with recruiters willing to pay an average of 45% more for candidates with demonstrable expertise in areas such as natural language processing, AI content creation and chatbot development.
However, the necessary AI skills are hard to come by, with more than 40% of business leaders saying they are unable to find people with the right skills they need as full-time employees. The findings, published in Fiverr's 2024 UK Workforce Index, come from a survey of 2,200 UK business decision makers, knowledge workers and freelancers.
“The high demand for these specialized AI skills is leading companies to take proactive measures to attract and retain top talent,” the authors write.
Nearly half of Fiverr survey respondents said that generally low-skilled talent was their biggest barrier to recruitment. AI was the skill most lacking in the UK workforce, cited by 32%. Social media dropped to third place from 2023.
What are the most in-demand AI skills?
The most commonly sought-after AI skills were AI content creation and ChatGPT, cited by 35% and 32% of respondents as needing them, respectively. Other in-demand skills included building AI chatbots (29%), proficiency with AI image generator Midjourney (25%), and AI image processing (21%).
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“The demand for AI skills is evidence of the accelerating pace of technological advancement, and companies' notable willingness to offer significant salary increases for AI expertise highlights the vital role these skills play in driving innovation and maintaining a competitive edge,” the authors write.
“The willingness to invest in AI talent reflects a broad recognition of the transformative potential of AI technology across industries. Companies that prioritize the development and integration of AI capabilities are likely to lead the way in innovation and efficiency, and set the benchmark for the future of work.”
Demand for AI skills is also growing globally, according to Donal McMahon, vice president of data science at job site Indeed, who told TechRepublic earlier this year that companies around the world are “looking for employees who are familiar with AI and can adapt to new and emerging technologies.”
AI skills shortage is slowing UK economy
The report's findings support recent findings that the UK is lagging behind other European countries in tech skills proficiency. The Microsoft report also calculated that adding five years to the time it takes to deploy AI in the UK could reduce the economic output by more than £150 billion in 2035.
A Microsoft report cited a lack of digital skills as one of the main obstacles to digital transformation for UK businesses: in fact, 40% of businesses reported difficulty recruiting staff with good digital skills, slowing the adoption of new technologies.
Given that the UK government is investing heavily in digital skills, the digital capability gap suggests that current approaches need to be reassessed, and higher wages for people with AI expertise could encourage workers to upskill.
Also see: 10 Best AI Courses for 2024
According to the UK government, the country's AI sector already creates more than 50,000 jobs and contributes more than £3.7 billion to the economy each year. By 2035, the UK AI market is predicted to grow to more than $1 trillion.
The Department of Education recently found that 10-30% of jobs could potentially be automated using AI, so hiring employees who can implement this automation could have a huge impact on your business’ efficiency and bottom line.
Why is there a shortage of AI skills in the UK?
The proportion of 'skills shortage vacancies' – jobs that are unfilled due to applicants lacking the skills, qualifications or experience – is extremely high in the UK information and communications sector, which includes AI. The figure has risen from an already high 25% in 2017 to 43% in 2022, the last year for which data is available.
See also: Top IT skills trends in the UK for 2024
In 2023, Red Hat surveyed IT managers from large UK-based companies about why their teams are suffering from a skills shortage. The top three reasons were:
- The workload is so high that you cannot find time to improve your skills.
- Lack of budget for training, upskilling and recruitment.
- Teams work in silos, hindering cross-team learning opportunities.
