Surging demand for artificial intelligence expertise and a scarcity of talent had created a yawning skills gap in Australia that is hindering companies’ ability to implement generative AI systems.
The skills gap, which is growing, has put pressure on Australia’s existing talent pool and is expected to double over the next three years, according to new research from US consulting house Bain and Company.
Some 44 per cent of senior executive cited the lack of access to internal AI skills and resources as the biggest thing holding their company back from implementing generative AI – a challenge that equalled concerns about quality and accuracy.
The number of AI specialists in Australia is projected to jump from 40,000 in 2024 to 85,000 by 2027, according to the Bain numbers.
But despite this doubling of AI specialists, Australia would be expected to still see a shortfall of up to 60,000 AI professionals by 2027, when the number of AI roles in Australia is expected to exceed 140,000.
The trend in Australia is mirrored across the world, with other comparable developed economies experiencing AI adoption outpacing the ability to churn out skilled AI professionals – either through the retraining of existing professionals or the addition of graduates into the workforce.
Demand for AI skills has grown 21 per cent annually since 2019, while the cost of these skills – wages – have grown by 11 per cent annually over the same period.
“The good news is that we expect Australia’s AI talent pool to more than double in the next three years,” said Bain and Company’s Sydney-based expert partner James Larmer.
“The challenging part is that this growth won’t be nearly enough to meet forecast demand,” he said, which was slowing the pace of adoption across all sectors.
“All sectors need to work together on a range of solutions to address this gap, including reskilling, continued and higher education, and on the job training,” he said
The numbers of AI specialists in the Bain research is based on current machine learning skills in the workforce, and the expected AI talent migration and higher education graduates with machine learning skills.
The demand for AI skills in the numbers is based on job postings and country’s sector average professionals-to-job postings ratio.
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