AI-Driven Transformation Urges Reskilling of 92% of ICT Roles, Says New Report by Global Consortium
The AI-Enabled ICT Workforce Consortium, led by industry giants including Cisco, Accenture, Google, IBM, and Microsoft, has released a groundbreaking report titled "The Transformational Opportunity of AI on ICT Jobs." The report reveals that 92% of ICT roles are set to undergo significant changes due to advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), highlighting an urgent need for reskilling across the industry.
This comprehensive study, which analyzed 47 ICT roles within seven job families, underscores the necessity for workers to adapt to AI-influenced environments. The consortium developed a Job Transformation Canvas to outline the skills that will become essential in the AI era, including AI ethics, prompt engineering, AI literacy, and data analytics. The report also identifies skills that may become less relevant, such as traditional data management and basic programming.
David Meads, Vice President of Cisco Middle East and Africa, emphasized the importance of upskilling in the face of rapid AI development. "AI presents a generational opportunity for technology to positively impact critical industries and wider society. We must act intentionally to ensure that populations in our region are equipped with the necessary skills," he said.
In response to this need, the consortium has set ambitious goals to train and upskill over 95 million individuals globally within the next decade. Cisco aims to train 25 million people in cybersecurity and digital skills by 2032, while IBM plans to skill 30 million individuals by 2030, including 2 million in AI by 2026. Other members, such as Intel, Microsoft, SAP, and Google, have also committed to extensive AI-focused training initiatives.
Cisco’s Networking Academy, one of the world’s longest-standing IT skills-to-jobs programs, continues to play a pivotal role in these efforts, having already reached 17.5 million learners in 190 countries, including over 500,000 in the GCC.
