93% Large Companies Say AI Is Essential; Alarming Shortage in Skilled AI Workforce: Report

93% of large global companies believe artificial intelligence (AI) will be essential for success in the next five years. However, research commissioned by UST, a digital transformation solutions company, reveals that most of these firms lack a skilled AI workforce.

Lack of Skilled AI Workforce
The survey, which covered 600 senior IT decision-makers in companies with revenue over $500 million each, uncovered a critical issue. 76% of respondents, surveyed across the US, UK, India, and Spain, cited a severe shortage of AI-skilled personnel. As a result, the decision-makers highlighted an urgent need to upskill the workforce and support AI adoption.

AI Survey: Key Findings
Of the key findings made by the survey, the first is that AI enablement is of paramount importance for large businesses. More than half (54%) of these businesses are using and integrating artificial intelligence throughout their organisations. Nearly one-third (28%) are using it across the business but in an unstructured way, and only 16% have just started to experiment with AI.Additionally, 92% of the respondents said that their company's AI implementation aligns with their strategic goals, but only 8% said they do not face barriers to achieving these goals. Furthermore, 89% indicated that their organisation needs to spend more on AI implementation to keep up with competitors.

AI Implementation: The Roadblocks
When asked about their AI implementation roadmap, 44% of respondents described the process as challenging. Of these, 40% cited security concerns, while 33% identified a shortage of in-house expertise as the second major issue. Regulatory challenges were also cited as a main problem area by 33% of respondents.Delving deeper into the issue of the skills shortage, the survey found that more than three-quarters (76%) of respondents were facing a severe shortage of AI-skilled personnel within their organisations.Consequently, 89% believe their organisation needs external guidance on implementing AI effectively. As a result, more than half (57%) of these companies plan to engage with external third-party AI expertise in the next three years.