Just what is an ‘IT worker’ now? The definition is changing

The rush to reskill and upskill

Tech workers, however, are finding their organizations lack programs to upskill or reskill; that, in turn, has resulted in a significant skills gap across a variety of industries that will affect global job growth by 2030. It’s seen as the biggest barrier to business transformation by 63% of employers surveyed by the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) January Future of Jobs Report.

To address the issue, 85% of respondents plan to prioritize upskilling, 70% will hire for new skills, 40% expect to reduce staff, and 50% will transition workers to growing roles, according to the WEF. It found that skills such as resilience, flexibility, resource management, quality control, and tech literacy are in high demand.

A key part of those efforts over the next five years will be centered around genAI; companies are expected to spend $42 billion a year on genAI projects such as chatbots, agents, research, writing, and summarization tools by 2030. Currently, 50% of companies with more than 5,000 employees use AI — with many more planning to do so. The rapid advance of the technology is contributing to the skills gap, forcing IT workers to learn about genAI even as genAI continues to evolve.