Skills shortage may hold back adoption of AI in firms, survey suggests

IBM’s Institute for Business Value report showed the majority of employers surveyed said they are currently hiring for generative AI related roles that did not exist last year

The report also found that two-thirds chief executives in Britain and Ireland say they are pushing their organisation to adopt AI technology more quickly than some employees are comfortable with.

A chronic skills shortage may hold back the adoption of AI technology among firms this year, a survey has suggested.

A study by the tech multinational IBM, which includes responses from chief executives in Ireland and  Britain found that just 37% of these employers plan to hire additional staff to build AI technology into their businesses amid a tight labour market. 

However, 50% of respondents said they are struggling to fill these roles. 

Meanwhile, many chief executives are expected to slim down their current staff headcounts amid push to adopt rapidly changing AI technology, the report warned.

Just under half the respondents said they expect to reduce or redeploy their workforce in the next 12 months because of generative AI.

However, the report by IBM’s Institute for Business Value showed the majority of employers surveyed said they are currently hiring for generative AI related roles that did not exist in their respective firms last year — but many have still not yet assessed the impact of the technology on their workforce.

The report also found that two-thirds of chief executives in Britain and Ireland say they are pushing their organisation to adopt AI technology more quickly than some employees are comfortable with.