A total of 40 percent of the world’s workforce will be forced to ‘reskill’ within the next three years as a result of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation implementation in the workplace, representing nearly 1.5 billion people around the world, according to a recent study by the IBM Institute for Business Value.
The study found that executives are among those with the highest risk of having to “reskill” at 87 percent. Other jobs with a high possibility of reskilling include marketing at 75 percent and customer service at 77 percent, with procurement, compliance, and financial services, all above 90 percent.
The study also suggests that technical skills, such as those in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields are slipping in the pecking order of what is considered the most critical skill from the top in 2016 to the lowest as of 2023.
“STEM skills are plummeting in importance,” the study adds, highlighting the uncertainty of future positions in those fields. Skills that are becoming more important include time management, effective communication, and ethics and integrity.
The study further explains that although AI is not yet in a position to replace people, those who embrace it “will replace those who don’t.”
The AI industry is expected to be worth up to $4.4 trillion to multinational corporations due to its ability to cut costs and improve worker productivity.
