AI is increasingly integrated into the South African business world.
With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) expected to eventually replace many jobs, a new South African job market outlook shows that emerging technology has spurred higher demand for specialists and IT professionals. AI in the last 12 months.
This is one of the main conclusions of the first edition of the monthly online job portal Pnet. Labor Market Trends Reportreleased this week.
The report examines SA’s hiring activity, as well as regional employment trends, based on Pnet’s online job advertisement data and aggregated candidate data, sourced from the platform online recruitment. The Stepstone Group South Africa.
In each edition, the report will analyze the most in-demand job openings and job sectors, providing insights into specific job sectors, presenting demographic data to guide recruiters in recruitment planning, and giving job seekers ’employs an overview of what is happening at the local level. the job market.
According to the report, AI is increasingly being integrated into the South African business world, either as part of product and service offerings to customers or internally. Due to this growing trend, AI specialists and professionals are increasingly sought after by organizations across various industries.
Looking at the trend over the past 12 months, the three most in-demand AI roles are data scientist (29%), data analyst (24%), and data engineer (16%).
Other positions where AI skills are in demand include software developer (11%), machine learning specialist (9%), business analyst (4%), sales professional (4%) %) and IT architect (3%), according to Pnet.
“AI is no longer just a buzzword… it’s changing the world, especially the business world, at an exponential rate,” says Anja Bates, Chief Data Officer at Pnet. “While many people are still wary of AI, the fact is that most of us already use it every day.
“Although AI may seem like a distant and mysterious technology, we have already begun to adopt it and reap the benefits in our daily lives.
“Analyzing vacancies for AI candidates, the report found that strong skills in programming, data science, statistics, analytics and machine learning are crucial in the AI field. »
The distribution of AI positions over the last 12 months.
Giving examples of how AI is used daily by ordinary South Africans, Bates cites personalized online advertising, online search engines like Google, chatbots/digital assistants like Siri and Waze and online shopping. line.
According to the 2024 South Africa: State of the Nation for Software Developers report, released last month by developer recruitment marketplace OfferZen, AI is shake the software developer market in South Africa, with the majority of software developers surveyed ranking it as their preferred sector.
As hiring among South Africa’s software developers has fallen by 5% over the past 12 months, AI is expected to reinvigorate placements in the industry, according to OfferZen.
Anja Bates, Head of Data at Pnet.
A report from the International Monetary Fund released in January revealed AI is expected to have a ripple effect on the global economy, impacting 40% of jobs in emerging markets and 26% of jobs in low-income countries. It further reveals that half of the jobs affected by AI will be negatively affected, while the rest could benefit significantly from increased productivity gains through AI.
AI adoption in South Africa is still at lower levels compared to its global counterparts, but the rapidly evolving landscape is seeing more and more businesses recognizing the important role of AI in driving the efficiency to new levels and boost productivity, leading to increased demand for emerging skills locally, notes Pnet.
Over the past year, SA has seen the release of OpenAI-developed chatbot ChatGPT, followed by a host of similar open source AI models. Further advancements in AI tools and greater proliferation are expected this year, experts say.
Generative AI and AI should become transformative technologies in South Africa, with benefits that will be felt across multiple sectors, including health, education, finance and agriculture. This is according to a research report compiled by global consultancy Boston Consulting Group, in partnership with Microsoft SA and Wits Business School.
The AI market in South Africa is projected to reach $3.18 billion in 2024, according to research firm Statista. The compound annual growth rate is expected to reach 18.35% between 2024 and 2030, resulting in a $8.74 billion market by 2030 in South Africa.
“Over the past five years, there has been a staggering 182% increase in AI vacancies,” says Bates.
Gauteng saw the highest number of AI job opportunities (63%), followed by the Western Cape (19%) and a number of local AI opportunities that do not reflect any specific geographic location (8 %),” notes Pnet.
The five most in-demand AI skills in South Africa.
