83% of UK companies are increasing salaries for employees with AI skills

Most UK businesses are willing to offer higher salaries to job seekers with artificial BroadCast Unitedligence skills, a new report has found. Hiring managers are willing to pay 45% more on average for candidates with demonstrable expertise in areas such as natural language processing, AI content creation and chatbot development.

However, the necessary AI skills are hard to come by, with more than 40% of business leaders saying they can’t find the right skills they need among their full-time employees. The results were published in Fiverr’s UK Workforce Index 2024from a survey of 2,200 UK business decision-makers, knowledge workers and freelancers.

“The high demand for these specialized AI skills is prompting companies to take aggressive steps to attract and retain talent,” the authors wrote.

Nearly half of respondents to the Fiverr study said low-skilled talent was their top barrier to recruitment overall. The most in-demand skill in the UK workforce was artificial BroadCast Unitedligence at 32%, while social media dropped to third place from 2023.

What are the most in-demand AI skills?

The most sought-after AI skills are AI content creation and ChatGPT35% and 32% of respondents, respectively. Other popular skills include AI chatbot building (29%), proficiency in the AI ​​image generator Midjourney (25%), and AI image processing (21%).

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“The demand for AI skills is evidence that the pace of technological advancement is accelerating,” the authors wrote. “Companies’ willingness to offer significant salary increases for AI expertise underscores the critical role these skills play in driving innovation and maintaining competitive advantage.”

“This willingness to invest in AI talent reflects a broader recognition of the technology’s transformative potential across industries. Companies that prioritize the development and integration of AI capabilities are likely to lead in innovation and efficiency, setting the benchmark for the future of work.”

Donal McMahon, vice president of data science at job search site Indeed, said there is also strong demand for AI skills around the world. Earlier this year, he told TechRepublic that companies around the world are “looking to hire people who can do this.”Are looking for employees who understand artificial BroadCast Unitedligence and can adapt to emerging technologies”

Lack of AI skills holding back UK economy

The results of this report support recent findings that The UK lags behind the rest of Europe in tech skills proficiencyA Microsoft report also calculated that if AI rollout in China was extended by five years, its economic impact could be lower by 2035. Over £150 billion.

The Microsoft report states that a lack of digital skills is one of the main factors holding back digitalisation for UK businesses. In fact, 40% of businesses say it is difficult to recruit employees with good digital skills, which slows down the deployment of new technologies.

considering Significant government investment in digital skillsthe UK’s lack of digital capabilities suggests current efforts may need to be reassessed, while offering higher wages for those with AI expertise could encourage workers to upskill.

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According to the UK government, the country’s AI industry already employs more than 50,000 people. Contributes over £3.7 billion to the economy Every year. By 2035, the UK AI market is expected to grow to over $1 trillion.

The Ministry of Education recently discovered 10% to 30% of jobs can be automated through AITherefore, 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?

s level “Skill shortage job vacancies” In the UK’s information and communications industries (including AI), it is common for vacancies to go unfilled because candidates lack the skills, qualifications or experience. This figure has risen from an already high 25% in 2017 to 43% in 2022, the last year for which data is available.

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In 2023, Red Hat surveyed IT managers at large UK companies about Why teams face a skills shortagethe top three reasons are:

• The heavy workload leaves people with little time to upgrade their skills.
• Lack of budget for training, upskilling or recruitment.
• Teams operated in silos, hindering opportunities for cross-team learning.