If you are a technical staff, you better fasten your seat belt. Because it’s going to be a difficult adventure.
THE The World Economic Forum (WEF) expects that almost a quarter of the world’s jobs will change over the next five years, in part thanks to AI. And the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts go even further, since 60% of jobs in advanced economic sectors are expected to be exposed to technology.
ADVERTISEMENT
Embark on an AI revolution with UT Austin. Two course start dates per year. Affordable tuition of $10,000.
Design human-centered AI technology with the University of Texas at Austin. Completed in just 18 months. Visit the website
While that may not seem like much on paper, it translates to billions of lives affected – and tech companies know it.
That’s why, starting today, nine of the world’s largest tech companies are joining forces to tackle the impact of AI on the tech workforce through a new consortium : the AI-enabled Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Workforce Consortium.
Led by Cisco and joined by Accenture, Eightfold, Google, IBM, Indeed, Intel, Microsoft and SAP, the group hopes to stay ahead of the rapidly growing and evolving AI wave by recommending opportunities for development and upskilling to ensure workers can adapt.
Many companies already have job training goals, totaling more than 95 million people over the next 10 years, including Intel and IBM commitments specifically related to AI. But as Francine Katsoudas, head of human resources, policies and objectives at Cisco, admits – all the different paths can be overwhelming for learners. This has, in part, helped companies realize that they cannot truly tackle the impact of AI on the workforce alone.
“What’s unique about this moment is that I think this is really the way that AI from a technology perspective is coming together,” Katsoudas says. Fortune. “And I think for all of us, we realize that for those who may not be connected, for those who have been affected by the digital divide, there is a risk if we don’t move a little bit faster .”
The consortium also includes six advisors, including the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) and Khan Academy.
Disruptions at every level, from truck drivers to software engineers
The formation of the consortium was inspired by discussions facilitated within the U.S. Business and Technology Council’s Talent for Growth Working Group, including Chuck Robbins, CEO of Cisco was a member.
In a statement to FortuneUS Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said her department is working to help create good-quality, well-paying jobs for the future, which the consortium will only support.
“I am grateful to the consortium members for joining this effort to address the new workforce needs that are emerging as a result of the rapid development of AI. This work will help provide unprecedented insight into the specific skills needs for these jobs. I hope this consortium is just the beginning and that the private sector sees this as a call to action to ensure our employees can reap the benefits of AI,” says Raimondo.
Collectively, the consortium’s nine companies employ more than 1.75 million people and generate annual revenue of more than $805 billion, according to Fortune 500 data.
“We have this really exciting new technology that companies around the world are rushing to figure out how to use it,” says Hannah Calhoon, head of AI innovation at Indeed. “And we know that this will likely have a particularly big impact on the daily work of people working in technology fields.”
The consortium’s first phase of work will focus on assessing the impact of AI on dozens of information and communications technology roles and provide actionable training insights to business leaders. business and workers.
“We recognize that we need to create pathways for our people. And the more we can actually leverage AI, in the way that we do it, I think it will start to have a real impact on career paths,” says Katsoudas. Fortune.
Nearly 1 in 5 (19.8%) jobs on Indeed are considered “highly” exposed to generative AI, meaning the technology is considered good or excellent at performing at least 80% of the skills related to this job.
By working directly with companies, Indeed hopes to be able to understand what jobs employers are looking to fill and what skills are needed for the future, that way they can better help match job seekers to positions, Calhoon explains.
She adds that AI disruption is much more widely expected to impact more white-collar fields.
“Every job seems to be experiencing some level of disruption, from truck driver to software engineer,” Calhoon says.
A future full of skills
More than half (58%) of workers believe the skills their jobs require will change significantly over the next five years, according to the report. FEM.
Although Calhoon says there are many paths to honing one’s AI skills, many courses today focus on broad topics like machine learning or large language models. Alternatively, an increase in functionally specific courses, such as AI for marketers or healthcare professionals, would be helpful and geared more towards practical use.
“The vast majority of us will instead ask ourselves: ‘How can I effectively leverage AI tools that someone else built in my daily work?’ “, says Calhoon.
For teams to stay ahead of the curve, constant training and development will be important for those working in the tech sector, and companies at the forefront will encourage it, Katsoudas says.
“We’ve found that talent is worried about their future and what that means for an employee at one of our companies is that we’re going to be able to provide more structure, more direction and more support to really help us all navigate some of the changes that are coming,” she says.
