Calls for reskilling and upskilling as technology roles evolve

The AI-Enabled ICT Workforce Consortium – led by Cisco with industry leaders Accenture, Eightfold, Google, IBM, Indeed, Intel, Microsoft and SAP, along with key advisors – released its inaugural report, “The Transformational Opportunity of AI on ICT Jobs.” This comprehensive analysis provides an unprecedented look at the effects of artificial intelligence on nearly 50 top information and communication technology (ICT) jobs, offering actionable training recommendations to enable an AI-powered workforce.

The initiative and resulting report seek to empower workers to reskill and upskill with recommendations underscored by today’s evolving job requirements. With the introduction of technology and tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Midjourney and further emergence of AI tools, workers must prepare for digital work environments increasingly adept at mimicking human capabilities. According to a recent World Economic Forum study, 58 percent of surveyed employees believe their job skills will change significantly in the next five years due to AI and big data.

“AI represents a never-before-seen opportunity for technology to benefit humankind in every way, and we have to act intentionally to make sure populations don't get left behind,” said Francine Katsoudas, Chief People, Policy & Purpose Officer, Cisco, and founding member of the AI-Enabled ICT Workforce Consortium. “Across the Consortium member companies, we have made it our collective responsibility to train and upskill 95 million people over the next 10 years. By investing in a long-term roadmap for an inclusive workforce, we can help everyone participate and thrive in the era of AI.”

Key Findings: Every Job Becomes an AI-Influenced Job

Key findings from the report offer a holistic view of the impact of AI on ICT jobs, empowering workers and employers to embrace the AI-driven future of work:

92 percent of ICT jobs analyzed are expected to undergo either high or moderate transformation due to advancements in AI.

Entry-level and mid-level ICT professionals are at the forefront of AI transformation with 40 percent of mid-level positions and 37 percent of entry level positions expected to have high levels of transformation.

As AI continues to redefine job functions, certain skills will rise in importance (such as AI ethics, responsible AI, prompt engineering, AI literacy, Large Language Models [LLM] architecture and agile methodologies), while others may become less relevant (traditional data management, content creation, documentation maintenance, basic programming and languages, and research information).

Foundational skills are needed across ICT job roles for AI preparedness, including AI literacy, data analytics and prompt engineering.

Actionable Insights for Workers and Employers

The Consortium report provides a thorough examination of AI’s impact on 47 information and communication technology roles across seven job families via a Job Transformation Canvas. The roles were selected based upon the highest volume of job postings for the period of February 2023-2024 in the U.S. and Europe, according to Indeed Hiring Lab. Taking a skills-based approach, the Job Transformation Canvas describes each role inclusive of a job description, principal tasks and corresponding skills.

The Job Transformation Canvas goes further to outline how AI will influence each role and identify future skills required, skills made less relevant by AI as well as those complemented by it. Workers can use the Job Transformation Canvas as a training companion as they ready for an AI-fueled job market. Employers can leverage the report as a training development guide to cultivate and enable their AI-ready workforces.

The AI-Enabled ICT Consortium report resides at https://www.cisco.com/go/ai-workforce-consortium for workers and employers to navigate jobs roles of interest–from business analyst and data scientist to IT manager to information security specialist–across seven job families including: business and management, cybersecurity, data science, design and user experience, infrastructure and operations, software development, and testing and quality assurance. Each ICT job receives an AI-impact evaluation with detailed recommendations for reskilling and upskilling. The core skills and training recommendations enable employers to take immediate action.

Our Commitment to Training

The report complements the Consortium members’ commitment to building an inclusive workforce with family-sustaining and economy-developing opportunities. Consortium members have committed to developing worker pathways particularly in job sectors that will increasingly integrate AI technology. To that end, Consortium members have established forward-thinking goals with skills development and training opportunities to positively impact over 95 million individuals around the world over the next 10 years. Consortium member goals include:

Cisco to train 25 million people with cybersecurity and digital skills by 2032.

IBM to skill 30 million individuals by 2030 in digital skills, including 2 million in AI by the end of 2026.

Intel to empower more than 30 million people with AI skills for current and future jobs by 2030.

Microsoft committed to training and certifying 10 million people in digital skills by 2025, surpassing this goal by training and certifying 12.6 million people a year ahead of schedule.

SAP to upskill two million people worldwide by 2025.

Google has recently announced over $130 million in funding to support AI training and skills for people across the US, Europe, Africa, Latin America and APAC.

Expanding Impact to Empower Workers and Employers Across the Globe

In June 2024, in response to feedback from leaders across the globe, the AI-Enabled ICT Workforce Consortium expanded its scope to include all G7 countries—adding Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom to the analysis of the most in-demand ICT job roles. During the next phase of Consortium work, analysis of jobs and presentation of best practices will be inclusive of the additional countries. The Consortium also plans to introduce an AI Workforce Playbook, designed to empower SMBs and large companies to upskill their workforce proactively.