Workforce and demand for tech workers to grow with rise of AI
When generative AI (GenAI) burst into public consciousness after the November 2022 launch of ChatGPT, it sent shock waves through every corner of the business world. Leaders wondered what it would mean for their workforce, and employees worried their jobs would be taken away.
Today, some of the dust has settled and more data is in. The headline: While disruption is on the horizon, so is opportunity.
Except in Japan and Germany, the workforce will grow—a lot—amid the rise of AI, according to our Impact AI: 2024 Workforce Skills Forecast. ServiceNow partnered with research expert Pearson to identify:
- Which tasks will be completed entirely by AI
- Which tasks will be assisted by AI
- Which roles and skills will grow in demand
- How leaders can reskill their workforce to future-proof their business
Our research involved developing and deploying AI-driven algorithms that combed massive troves of publicly available labor market data across Australia, Canada, Germany, India, Japan, Singapore, the UK, and the U.S.
Here’s what we learned about how to prepare your organization for the seismic impact emerging technologies will have on the workplace.
We need more people in the workforce
In India, we forecast demand for an additional 34 million workers in the next five years to sustain an estimated 6.3% yearly economic growth. In the U.S., a modest annual GDP increase of 2.1% will require an additional 1 million people in the workforce.
The takeaway is that even with some jobs being automated away and many tasks made more efficient by the use of AI, we’ll still experience a global labor shortage. In fact, the productivity gains from emerging technologies will prevent this worker deficit from being more extreme.
Tech workers remain in high demand
Almost across the board, the research forecasts rising demand for most tech roles. In the U.S., we found that, with one exception (document management specialists), the need for skilled tech workers will increase over the next five years.
We foresee reduced demand for tech workers in certain industries, such as financial services, that are shrinking overall. These industries will shed tech roles not required to implement and maintain AI and other emerging technologies.
Other industries, such as healthcare, will increase total employee headcount, making it necessary to add IT roles to implement and maintain emerging technologies.
Overall, the projected economic growth of thriving industries provides enough IT job opportunities to counteract decreases in IT headcount due to emerging technologies.
The time to reskill is now
Last year’s global skills study concluded that the more we use machines to do the kind of work they’re good at, the less humans will have to work like machines. By reallocating tasks best done by AI and other technologies, people can focus on human strengths, such as critical thinking, interpersonal communication, and creativity.
To achieve this optimistic vision—and to support healthy economic growth—businesses and governments must create training opportunities to proactively prepare the workforce. This can only be done by understanding which skills are on the wane and which are on the rise in the IT industry and beyond.
Programs are needed to support evolving talent and skilling needs. By identifying and supporting people whose jobs are at higher risk of being disrupted by automation and augmentation, organizations can close today’s persistent skills gaps and support a new generation of highly trained, high-value employees.
Get more insights in the full Impact AI report. And find out how we help people RiseUp with ServiceNow.