Upskilling and retraining for talent innovation in the AI ​​era

Artificial intelligence (AI) represents a once-in-a-lifetime change management opportunity that could determine who wins and loses across all industries. As the AI ​​era takes shape through digital innovation, all executives and employees are concerned about how the AI ​​era will affect employment and the capabilities needed to get ahead. This is where AI upskilling and reskilling begins.

Executives and employees’ perspectives on the AI ​​era

According to a report from the IBM Institute for Business Value, more than 60% of executives say generative AI will disrupt the way their organizations design customer and employee experiences. Employees must change to meet these demands. Many are turning to AI upskilling – the act of providing the workforce with the skills and training to use AI to do their jobs.

A 2024 Gallup poll found that about 25% of workers are worried that AI could make their jobs obsolete. This is up from 15% in 2021. In the same study, more than 70% of chief human resources officers (CHROs) predicted that AI would replace their jobs. Within the next three years.

The World Economic Forum estimates in its Future of Jobs Report 2023 that automation will replace 85 million jobs by 2025 and change 40% of workers’ core skills. AI will usher in a new era of productivity and value, and business leaders must make their employees part of the future.

All organizations have a responsibility to provide their employees with the skills and training they need to use AI in their daily work. In particular, CHROs must take a leading role in decisions about which technologies will be automated and which will remain mission-critical and handled by employees.

The rise of AI is fundamentally reshaping corporate strategy. Executives must strengthen AI capabilities, including using generative AI tools across the workforce. As AI takes on some of the tasks previously handled by humans, we need to provide opportunities for employees to develop their skills.

Employees are interested in learning advanced skills that can leverage the power of AI to make their jobs more efficient and their career paths more successful. Organizations are very interested in upskilling their employees to better use new technologies, such as AI, in their daily activities to increase productivity and improve problem solving.

Upskilling and reskilling

Upskilling and reskilling are separate but important components of an organization’s approach to talent development and skill building. First upskilling is the process of improving employee skills through training and development programs. The goal is to minimize skills gaps and prepare employees for changes in job roles or functions. An example of upskilling is customer care representatives learning how to use generative AI and chatbots to better answer customer questions in real time through rapid engineering.

Retraining means learning a whole new set of skills to perform a new job. For example, someone currently working in data processing may need to retrain to learn web development or advanced data analytics.

According to the IBM Institute for Business Value, executives estimate that approximately 40% of their workforce will need reskilling over the next three years. But what about improving skills?

Learn more about workforce reskilling in the AI ​​era.

Opportunities to advance AI skills across sectors and industries

Like other groundbreaking technologies before it, the evolution of AI is creating opportunities for new industries, new jobs, and new approaches to existing professions. To prepare employees and businesses, organizations must ensure their employees have the skills for tomorrow without disrupting the business today. This is critical to the success of many technology-enhanced use cases.

customer service

Customer service is the top principle for most CEOs for deploying generative AI, according to a report from the IBM Institute for Business Value. AI can handle some of a customer’s initial queries, but when an issue escalates, customer service representatives (CSRs) will need to use the tool as well. CSRs must improve their ability to conduct rapid engineering and engage with customers by searching AI-powered databases.

financial services

Employees in the financial sector increasingly have improved tools to help them make better investments on behalf of their clients. Nearly 70% of financial services leaders believe that more than half of their workforce will need upskilling by 2024. This requires not only learning how to use these new technologies, but also feeling like you can trust the results of AI technologies, even if you don’t fully understand them. .

health care

Hospitals and healthcare providers are integrating AI technology into their back offices and diagnostic care facilities. For example, healthcare companies are starting to use machine learning techniques to improve and speed up medical diagnosis. Understanding what these technologies can and cannot do remains important for healthcare professionals to make good decisions.

Human Resources (HR)

Organizations are starting to use AI in HR to process job applications and help find suitable candidates. HR managers need to learn how to use this technology to identify potential biases or other uncertainties so they can find valuable prospects.

web development

Generative AI and other advanced technologies are creating tremendous opportunities for web development efficiency. Developers can use it to convert one coding language to another. One such example is that applications can refactor COBOL code for mainframes into modular business service components.

How AI Enhances Upskilling Opportunities

Organizations can use AI technologies to enhance the AI ​​learning experience itself.

Online Learning and Development

Using generative AI chatbots and personalization, you can create more personalized learning opportunities for each employee. You can create a training program that combines the basic AI training your employees need with specific training tailored to the learner’s job. As a result, your employees will have a powerful, customized AI skill set that helps them maximize their performance.

Below is a sample course load for the AI ​​Skills Advancement Development Program offered by IBM.

• Strategic ImperativesThe rise of generative AI for business, how to become a value creator with generative AI, and more.

• Elements of Enterprise AI, For example, creating added value using data management and generative AI-based models.

• When AI is applied to a specific field, Marketing, coding, talent development, etc.

field training

Employees can use AI applications while doing their jobs to improve their knowledge and expertise in AI tools. For example, generative AI tools can help teach how to improve prompts while answering questions about specific processes.

Skills Gap Analysis

Organizations can input a ton of information about their employees’ performance and certifications and use machine learning to identify areas where additional training is needed. This approach is a more efficient way to identify gaps than guessing or asking employees where they need help.

Mentoring

AI can help large organizations better identify mentors and mentees based on a variety of criteria, such as their background, interests, and what they look for in a relationship. AI programs that automatically match mentors and mentees take the hard work away and make connections across your organization stronger.

career development

Organizations can use AI to help employees figure out where to advance their careers. They can suggest potential career paths and have you cycle through different options until you land on your ideal career.

Why AI advancements provide added value to your organization

Combining institutional knowledge and advanced competencies.

AI and other technologies can create opportunities for organizations to automate many processes, but they still require employees to provide valuable context. Helping existing employees remain valuable to the organization serves the dual purpose of leveraging their hard-earned experience to improve decision-making.

One way to integrate AI into employee work is to use IBM role-based AI assistants with a conversation-based interface that can support key consulting project roles and tasks.

It fills an important gap.

Many AI technologies require humans to operate them or interpret the results. Organizations that try to deploy these technologies without the help of their employees may not maximize results or may make poor decisions.

Employee retention rates improve.

Employees are now unlikely to stay in an organization that does not prioritize the employee experience, which must include the development of AI technologies. One reason is that employees are expected to provide lasting skills for their jobs and careers. The second reason is that organizations that do not prioritize AI are likely to fall behind their competitors.

Embrace the democratization of web development.

AI is driving tremendous change in web development. The AI ​​era brings a wave of generative AI code development that allows non-developers to write code. But this is only possible if organizations invest in training their employees how to use it.

It’s the right thing to do

Organizations must give employees every opportunity to maintain their value in a rapidly changing talent environment. In the workplace of the future, many unprepared employees may be left behind. Training employees in AI skills not only benefits today’s organizations, it also provides employees with a roadmap for future success.

Use AI for HR and talent innovation through the AI ​​Academy guidebook. Explore HR and talent innovation consulting services.