Most UK companies are willing to offer higher salaries to candidates with AI skills, according to a new report. Hiring managers will pay 45% more on average for those with demonstrable experience in areas such as natural language processing, artificial intelligence content creation, and chatbot development.
However, the skills needed in AI are hard to come by: More than 40% of business leaders say they can't find the right skills they need in full-time employees. The results, published in Fiverr's UK Workforce Index 2024, come from a survey of 2,200 UK business decision-makers, knowledge workers and freelancers.
“The high demand for these specialized AI skills is driving companies to take proactive measures to attract and retain talent,” the authors wrote.
Nearly half of respondents in the Fiverr study said low-skilled talent in general was their biggest barrier to hiring. The top skill missing from the UK workforce is artificial intelligence, cited by 32%, with social media moving into third place from 2023.
What are the most in-demand AI skills?
The most in-demand AI skills are AI content creation and ChatGPT, which were requested by 35% and 32% of respondents, respectively. Other in-demand skills include AI chatbot creation (29%), mastery of the AI Midjourney Image Generator (25%), and AI image processing (21%).
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The authors wrote: “The demand for AI skills is a testament to the accelerating pace of technological advancement. The remarkable willingness of companies to offer substantial pay increases for AI expertise highlights the critical role these skills play in driving innovation and maintaining a competitive advantage.
“This willingness to invest in AI talent reflects a broader recognition of the transformative potential of AI technologies across diverse industries. “Companies that prioritize the development and integration of AI capabilities will likely lead innovation and efficiency, setting benchmarks for the future of work.”
According to Donal McMahon, vice president of data science at job site Indeed, the demand for AI skills is also being reflected globally. Earlier this year, he told TechRepublic that companies around the world “are looking for employees who are AI-savvy and can adapt to new and emerging technologies.”
Lack of AI skills holding back UK economy
The report's results support the recent finding that the UK lags behind the rest of Europe in mastering technical skills. A Microsoft report also estimated that adding five years to the time it takes to implement AI in the country could reduce its economic impact in 2035 by more than £150 billion.
Microsoft’s report cites a lack of digital skills as one of the main factors holding back digitalisation in UK businesses. In fact, 40% of businesses reported that they found it difficult to recruit staff with good digital skills, leading to slower implementation of new technologies.
Considering the government's significant investments in digital skills, the UK's lack of digital competence suggests that current efforts may need to be re-evaluated, and higher salaries for those with AI expertise could encourage workers to upskill.
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According to the UK government, the country's AI sector already employs more than 50,000 people and contributes more than £3.7 billion to the economy each year. By 2035, the UK AI market is forecast to grow to over $1 trillion.
The Department of Education recently found that between 10-30% of jobs could be automated using AI, so bringing in employees who can implement this automation could have a huge impact on business efficiency and revenue.
Why is there an AI skills shortage in the UK?
The level of “skills shortage vacancies” – where a job cannot be filled due to a lack of skills, qualifications or experience among applicants – is very high in the UK’s information and communications sector, which encompasses artificial intelligence. The figure rose from an already high 25% in 2017 to 43% in 2022, the latest year for which data is available.
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In 2023, Red Hat surveyed IT managers at large UK-based companies about why teams were struggling with a skills shortage, and the top three reasons were:
- Heavy workloads prevent people from finding time to improve their skills.
- Lack of budget for training, capacity building or hiring.
- Teams working in silos, preventing cross-team learning opportunities.
