A consortium led by Cisco comprising members including Microsoft, Accenture, Google and Intel outlined the anticipated future impact of AI on ICT industry workers, with 92 per cent of roles assessed expected to have at least a moderate level of change.  

The AI-Enabled ICT Workforce Consortium was formed earlier this year with the aim of creating “skills development pathways” for those likely to be most impacted by the continued rise of AI.

In its inaugural report, The Transformational Opportunity of AI on ICT Jobs, the consortium noted entry- and mid-level professionals were at the forefront of changes, with 37 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively expected to have “high levels of transformation”.

The report is the result of an assessment of the 47 ICT roles featuring most prominently in job listings in the US and Europe in the year to February.

Training recommendations on dealing with the AI impact are outlined in the study.

The consortium noted as AI continues to redefine job functions, skills including “AI ethics, responsible AI, prompt engineering, AI literacy, Large Language Models architecture and agile methodologies” would rise in importance.

At the same time, it predicted roles including traditional data management, content creation, documentation maintenance, basic programming and languages, and research information would become less important.

It also noted “foundational skills are needed across ICT job roles for AI preparedness, including AI literacy, data analytics and prompt engineering” promoting the need for staff training schemes.  

The other members of the consortium are: Eightfold, IBM, Indeed and SAP.

It is advised by the American Federation of Labour and Congress of Industrial Organisations, CHAIN5, Communications Workers of America, DigitalEurope, the European Vocational Training Association, Khan Academy and SMEUnited.