Viewing offline content

Limited functionality available

Dismiss
Deloitte Middle East
Annotations
  • Services

    What's New

    • Deloitte175

      Join us for a celebration of 175 years of making an impact that matters.

    • Building the Resilient Organization

      2021 Deloitte Global resilience report

    • 2020 Global Gender Impact Report

      A collection of Butterfly Effect stories highlighting how our Deloitte professionals are positively impacting the lives of women and girls around the world

    • Audit & Assurance

      • Assurance
    • Consulting

      • Strategy, Analytics and M&A
      • Customer and Marketing
      • Business Operations
      • Human Capital
      • Enterprise Technology & Performance
    • Financial Advisory

      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Forensic
      • Real Estate
      • Turnaround & Restructuring
    • Risk Advisory

      • Strategic & Reputation Risk
      • Regulatory Risk
      • Financial Risk
      • Operational Risk
      • Cyber Risk
    • Tax

      • Global Business Tax Services
      • Indirect Tax
      • Global Employer Services
    • Deloitte Private

      • Family Enterprise
    • Legal

    • Sustainability

  • Industries

    What's New

    • Deloitte perspectives

      Leadership perspectives from across the globe.

    • Deloitte Insights App

      Our thought leadership and Dow Jones news, now at your fingertips

    • Future of Mobility

      Learn how this new reality is coming together and what it will mean for you and your industry.

    • Consumer

      • Automotive
      • Consumer Products
      • Retail, Wholesale & Distribution
      • Transportation, Hospitality & Services
    • Energy, Resources & Industrials

      • Industrial Products & Construction
      • Mining & Metals
      • Oil, Gas & Chemicals
      • Power, Utilities & Renewables
    • Financial Services

      • Banking & Capital Markets
      • Insurance
      • Investment Management
      • Real Estate
    • Government & Public Services

      • Civil Government
      • Defense, Security & Justice
      • Health & Social Care
      • Transport
    • Life Sciences & Health Care

      • Health Care
      • Life Sciences
    • MENA Sovereign Wealth Funds

    • Technology, Media & Telecommunications

      • Technology
      • Telecommunications, Media & Entertainment
  • Insights

    Deloitte Insights

    What's New

    • Deloitte Insights Magazine

      Explore the latest issue now

    • Deloitte Insights app

      Go straight to smart with daily updates on your mobile device

    • Weekly economic update

      See what's happening this week and the impact on your business

    • Strategy

      • Business Strategy & Growth
      • Digital Transformation
      • Governance & Board
      • Innovation
      • Marketing & Sales
      • Private Enterprise
    • Economy & Society

      • Economy
      • Environmental, Social, & Governance
      • Health Equity
      • Trust
      • Mobility
    • Organization

      • Operations
      • Finance & Tax
      • Risk & Regulation
      • Supply Chain
      • Smart Manufacturing
    • People

      • Leadership
      • Talent & Work
      • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Technology

      • Data & Analytics
      • Emerging Technologies
      • Technology Management
    • Industries

      • Consumer
      • Energy, Resources, & Industrials
      • Financial Services
      • Government & Public Services
      • Life Sciences & Health Care
      • Technology, Media, & Telecommunications
    • Spotlight

      • Deloitte Insights Magazine
      • Press Room Podcasts
      • Weekly Economic Update
      • COVID-19
      • Resilience
  • Careers

    What's New

    • Millennial Survey 2022

      Gen Zs and millennials are striving for balance and advocating for change.

    • Candidate Profile

      After applying for a job in this country, you can access/update your candidate profile at any time.

    • Job Search

    • Students

    • Experienced Hires

    • Executives

    • Life at Deloitte

    • Alumni

    • Diversity and Inclusion

  • XE-EN Location: XE-English  
  • Contact us
  • XE-EN Location: XE-English  
  • Contact us
    • Dashboard
    • Saved items
    • Content feed
    • Profile/Interests
    • Account settings

Welcome back

Still not a member? Join My Deloitte

The AI talent shortage isn’t over yet

by David Jarvis
  • Save for later
  • Share
    • Share on Facebook
    • Share on Twitter
    • Share on Linkedin
    • Share by email
Deloitte Insights
  • Strategy
    Strategy
    Strategy
    • Business Strategy & Growth
    • Digital Transformation
    • Governance & Board
    • Innovation
    • Marketing & Sales
    • Private Enterprise
  • Economy & Society
    Economy & Society
    Economy & Society
    • Economy
    • Environmental, Social, & Governance
    • Health Equity
    • Trust
    • Mobility
  • Organization
    Organization
    Organization
    • Operations
    • Finance & Tax
    • Risk & Regulation
    • Supply Chain
    • Smart Manufacturing
  • People
    People
    People
    • Leadership
    • Talent & Work
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
  • Technology
    Technology
    Technology
    • Data & Analytics
    • Emerging Technologies
    • Technology Management
  • Industries
    Industries
    Industries
    • Consumer
    • Energy, Resources, & Industrials
    • Financial Services
    • Government & Public Services
    • Life Sciences & Health Care
    • Tech, Media, & Telecom
  • Spotlight
    Spotlight
    Spotlight
    • Deloitte Insights Magazine
    • Press Room Podcasts
    • Weekly Economic Update
    • COVID-19
    • Resilience
    • XE-EN Location: XE-English  
    • Contact us
      • Dashboard
      • Saved items
      • Content feed
      • Profile/Interests
      • Account settings
    3 minute read 30 September 2020

    The AI talent shortage isn’t over yet Even mature AI adopters are challenged by skill gaps

    3 minute read 30 September 2020
    • David Jarvis United States
    • David Jarvis United States
    • Save for later
    • Share
      • Share on Facebook
      • Share on Twitter
      • Share on Linkedin
      • Share by email

    Leaders are seeking AI talent, even during an economic crunch. Companies at every level of AI sophistication see skill gaps—and are aiming to fill them.

    The AI skills gap

    Companies across all industries have been scrambling to secure top AI talent from a pool that’s not growing fast enough. Even during the economic disruptions and layoffs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for AI talent has been strong. Leaders are looking to reduce costs through automation and efficiency, and AI has a real role to play in that effort.1

    Learn more

    Explore the Thinking Fast series library

    Subscribe and never miss a charticle

    Learn about Deloitte’s services

    Go straight to smart. Get the Deloitte Insights app

    In Deloitte’s third edition of the State of AI in the Enterprise survey, we found something unexpected when it came to skill gaps for AI implementations.2 Although a majority of the most mature AI adopters, the Seasoned, reported little or no gap between their AI needs and current abilities, 23 percent said they had a major or extreme one—a higher percentage than the less mature organizations. How could this be?

    It is said that what really counts is what you learn after you know everything. Perhaps the Seasoned, having worked with AI technologies more extensively, now know what skills they actually need, not what they think they need. It could also be that the Seasoned tend to pursue more transformational projects using AI, focusing more on creating new products and services than cost reduction.

    To understand better, let’s take an in-depth look at the talent profiles of the three maturity segments:

    Types of talent needed. All three segments have an AI talent gap. Some feel the lack of necessary skills more acutely. The type of talent most in demand was fairly equal across the three segments: AI developers and engineers, AI researchers, and data scientists. Business leaders, domain experts, and project managers fell lower on the list.

    Where talent comes from. All three different segments have the same top source for getting the skills they need: experienced AI professionals from outside their organization. With everyone after the same small group of individuals, companies need to further develop alternatives—in particular, hiring university graduates with AI skills and retraining internal resources. Seasoned adopters rely more on internal resources already trained in AI; Starters lean on partnerships with other companies with AI expertise a bit more.

    Training activities. Seasoned AI adopters feel their skills shortages more intensely than the other segments, but they may be selling themselves short, considering they are much more focused on internal training and education. Roughly two-thirds of Seasoned adopters are currently training their developers to create new AI solutions (64 percent compared to 55 percent for Skilled and 43 percent of Starters) and training their AI staff to deploy AI solutions. They are also providing training for employees to use AI in their jobs (67 percent compared to 53 percent of Skilled and 48 percent of Starters).

    Implications for executives

    Even if you have been working with AI for years and have dozens of implementations, you may still lack the in-house talent you need for the next round of projects.

    Use AI technologies that maximize what you have. Work to reduce the burden on your AI team where you can. Build skills around sourcing the best AI technologies and suppliers.3 Leverage cloud-based platforms with pre-built solutions and accelerators.

    Diversify your sources of AI talent. Look at experienced hires, university hires, and how your partners and vendors can help fill gaps. Aim to build a bench of business talent that can “speak AI” as well.

    Focus on future rock stars. A world-class AI expert may not drive competitive advantage as much as a strong and broad team, so try to build for the long run.

    Acknowledgments

    Cover image by: Viktor Koen

    Endnotes
      1. Angus Loten, “AI hiring expected to show resilience amid coronavirus slowdown,” Wall Street Journal, March 30, 2020. View in article

      2. Beena Ammanath, David Jarvis, and Susanne Hupfer, Thriving in the era of pervasive AI: Deloitte’s State of AI in the Enterprise, 3rd Edition, Deloitte Insights, July 14, 2020. View in article

      3. Tom Davenport, “Is AI getting easier?”, Forbes, July 14, 2020. View in article

    Show moreShow less

    Topics in this article

    Talent , Artificial intelligence (AI) , Technology Industry , Cognitive technologies , Future of Work

    Technology, Media & Telecommunications

    Deloitte’s Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT) industry practice brings together one of the world’s largest group of specialists respected for helping shape many of the world’s most recognized TMT brands—and helping those brands thrive in a digital world.

    Learn more
    Get in touch
    Contact
    • Paul Silverglate
    • Partner, Deloitte Risk and Financial Advisory
    • Deloitte & Touche LLP
    • psilverglate@deloitte.com
    • +1 408 704 2475

    Download Subscribe

    Related content

    img Trending

    Can 5G unleash next-generation digital experiences in the home?

    Article 2 years ago
    img Trending

    Closing the tech conference gender gap

    Article 2 years ago
    img Trending

    The window for AI competitive advantage is narrowing

    Article 1 year ago
    img Trending

    Why organizations are moving to the cloud

    Article 2 years ago

    Explore the Thinking Fast charticle series

    • Increasingly, video streaming doesn’t mean ad-free Article1 year ago
    • Will gaming keep growing when the lockdowns end? Article1 year ago
    • The most valued technology gadgets of the last decade Article2 years ago
    • Can tech companies reach older consumers during the pandemic? Article2 years ago
    • How streaming is changing the music industry Article2 years ago
    • The satellite broadband industry is moving at hyperspeed Article2 years ago
    David Jarvis

    David Jarvis

    David is a senior research manager in Deloitte’s Center for Technology, Media & Telecommunications, Deloitte Services LP. He has more than 15 years of experience in the technology industry and is a passionate expert and educator focused on emerging business and technology issues—including the potential impacts of longer-term change across our digital society.

    • davjarvis@deloitte.com
    • +1 617 437 2862

    Share article highlights

    See something interesting? Simply select text and choose how to share it:

    Email a customized link that shows your highlighted text.
    Copy a customized link that shows your highlighted text.
    Copy your highlighted text.

    The AI talent shortage isn’t over yet has been saved

    The AI talent shortage isn’t over yet has been removed

    An Article Titled The AI talent shortage isn’t over yet already exists in Saved items

     
    Forgot password

    To stay logged in, change your functional cookie settings.

    OR

    Social login not available on Microsoft Edge browser at this time.

    Connect Accounts

    Connect your social accounts

    This is the first time you have logged in with a social network.

    You have previously logged in with a different account. To link your accounts, please re-authenticate.

    Log in with an existing social network:

    To connect with your existing account, please enter your password:

    OR

    Log in with an existing site account:

    To connect with your existing account, please enter your password:

    Forgot password

    Subscribe

    to receive more business insights, analysis, and perspectives from Deloitte Insights
    ✓ Link copied to clipboard
    • Contact us
    • Search Jobs
    • Submit RFP
    Follow Deloitte Insights:
    Global office directory Office locations
    XE-EN Location: XE-English  
    About Deloitte
    • Newsroom
    • Deloitte events
    • Our blog collections
    • Press releases
    • Press contacts
    • Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability
    • Report an ethics complaint
    Services
    • Audit & Assurance
    • Consulting
    • Financial Advisory
    • Risk Advisory
    • Tax
    • Deloitte Private
    • Legal
    • Sustainability
    Industries
    • Consumer
    • Energy, Resources & Industrials
    • Financial Services
    • Government & Public Services
    • Life Sciences & Health Care
    • MENA Sovereign Wealth Funds
    • Technology, Media & Telecommunications
    Careers
    • Job Search
    • Students
    • Experienced Hires
    • Executives
    • Life at Deloitte
    • Alumni
    • Diversity and Inclusion
    • About Deloitte
    • About Deloitte in the Middle East
    • Privacy
    • Terms of use
    • Cookies
    • Avature Privacy

    © 2022. See Terms of Use for more information.

    Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee (“DTTL”), its network of member firms, and their related entities. DTTL and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. DTTL (also referred to as “Deloitte Global”) does not provide services to clients. Please see About Deloitte to learn more about our global network of member firms.