Will we ever get a job? : Assessing AI-related competencies in relation to employability - An employer perspective

Sammanfattning

Emerging AI technologies change the nature of work in organizations. Alongside this emerging technology, individuals must develop relevant competencies to be employable. Schools and universities are updating their curriculum accordingly with existing research, but what AI-related competencies are actually in demand from an employer's perspective, and how do they affect employability? This study aims to explore how IT-recruiters and IT-consultant managers, representatives of what competencies are in demand from organizations, perceive AI-related competencies in relation to employability. Through seven qualitative interviews with participants from various organizations, these perceptions were explored. These AI-related competencies were categorized into four themes: the ability to communicate with AI, knowing when to use AI, critical thinking towards AI, and understanding the reasoning behind AI’s generation of information. Interestingly, the results reveal that such AI-related competencies are as of now not explicitly expected in candidates, but instead implicitly, meaning that candidates are expected to possess some of these to various degrees, but they are not required in relation to employability. Though junior candidates predominantly possess these competencies, senior candidates are of higher demand, indicating a paradox. As it is difficult to determine whether these conditions alone determine employability, external factors are also presented as a cause. As of now, it seems that AI is still an emerging technology. The results are therefore best understood as a temporal snapshot of the current labour market and its trajectory in relation to AI.