AI skills take priority as company CEOs shift recruitment amid rising costs

Helena O'Dwyer of EY says Irish CEOs are responding with 'real urgency' to rising costs.

Skills in AI are increasingly shaping recruitment strategies in Ireland, with 98% of company chief executives surveyed predicting AI to have a transformative or significant impact on their business model within two years.

The EY Ireland CEO Outlook published on Tuesday found 60% of company chief executives in Ireland plan to maintain or increase hiring this year, with AI increasingly playing a role. Organisations reported accelerating reskilling and redeployment due to the competition for talent. Priority skills include AI, cyber resilience, cloud engineering, transformation, and regulation.