AI expected to transform roles and hiring

Nearly two thirds of UK employees think artificial intelligence (AI) will change the skills needed for their jobs in the next five years.

A YouGov survey carried out as part of recruitment specialist Indeed’s Future of Work Report has found that 63% expect to see changes in their roles, although 89% are confident in their ability to adapt. However, 27% feel “cautious” and one in four do not feel prepared to adapt to such changes. Additionally, 58% think more jobs will be lost to AI than created by it.

The research also found that three in five think AI can analyse data better than humans; 48% cited routine tasks and 45% attention to detail as other areas where AI is in the ascendent. On the other hand, respondents thought humans outpaced AI in customer service (cited by 56%), critical thinking (42%) and decision-making and content creation (37%). 

While 41% of respondents have upskilled in response to immediate business needs in the past three years, another 39% did so to develop long-term skills and learning. 
Separate research by the World Employment Confederation, Agile talent in the age of AI, has found that 81% of business leaders think AI advances will require new skills and ways of carrying out work. Despite this, 78% fear they cannot train staff quickly enough to keep pace with technology developments in the next three years, and 80% say it has never been harder to plan for future talent requirements.

With 92% of senior executives expecting to need a more flexible workforce in the next two years, 91% will look to set up sectoral talent pools and 89% will take a skills-based approach to hiring and using online talent platforms. The research also found that 88% of leaders will use contingent, freelance or temporary workers, offer inter-department secondments or job rotations, and hire talent from abroad.