Artificial intelligence has become the UK’s largest and fastest developing skills gap in 15 years, according to new research.
AI has jumped from the fifth most scarce technological skill in the UK to the top in just 18 months, according to the Nash Squared/Harvey Nash report.
The report’s survey of UK tech leaders found that over half (52%) reported that they are suffering an AI skills shortage, up from 20% in the group’s previous report.
The shortage in skills has been driven by the rapid increase in investment in the AI sector, which jumped to mainstream popularity in 2022 with the release of ChatGPT.
The vast majority (89%) of UK tech leaders are reporting that they are either piloting AI integration or investing in AI developments, up significantly from the 46% reported previously.
“UK businesses have a pressing need to ensure their technology teams are equipped with the skills to leverage AI to full effect, or the implementations they are making could fall short,” said Nash Squared chief executive Bev White.
“As AI is so new, there is no ‘playbook’ here – it’s about a mix of approaches including formal training where available, reskilling IT staff and staff outside of the traditional IT function to widen the pool, on-the-job experimentation, and knowledge sharing and transfer.”
Limited availability of AI skills isn’t just a problem for tech companies either. Several reports released this year have found that the public sector is not ready to carry out the implementation of AI tools requested by central government.
In March, the government unveiled a new public sector AI accelerator programme to address the gap.
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