U.S.: huge skills shortage in AI and machine learning

U.S.: huge skills shortage in AI and machine learning

San Francisco, 9/26/2022

A survey of decision makers at major U.S. companies has found that 63% of respondents see the biggest skills shortage in AI and machine learning. Analytics software vendor SAS commissioned the survey and released a report based on the findings.

Forty-three percent of SAS survey respondents said AI/ML would be among their top investment priorities in the next 1 to 2 years.

This was ahead of data visualization (25%), data analytics (22%) and Big Data (17%).

To address skills gaps in these areas, 75% of respondents said they planned to train and upskill their current employees.

64% wanted to recruit new talent, and many wanted to work with universities to recruit talent directly.

However, 74% said they would consider project work and case studies rather than a degree.

Only 54% chose a college degree as a method for evaluating potential new employees

To close the skills gap in data science, the report suggests that companies consolidate AI and analytics tools around open and multilingual tools,

to increase productivity and enable end users to perform basic analytics tasks. They also suggest encouraging upskilling and cross-skilling of existing employees, including those with non-technical backgrounds. This includes creating a culture and learning environment that encourages employees to expand their skills through things like online training and hackathons, they say.