AI & soft skills: reshaping the future of work

[Md. Abdur Rahim]

BY Ksenia Stepanova

ChatGPT burst onto the scene less than a year ago, and has ushered in a realm of new opportunities for businesses and individuals. While there have been concerns around AI taking over certain roles, the need for uniquely human skills doesn’t appear to be going anywhere. LinkedIn’s latest figures show businesses placing increasing importance onto soft skills - and also onto finding AI-skilled talent.

Trends on the employee side are also promising. Far from reacting with pessimism, employees and jobseekers are increasingly responding to this demand through upskilling, and the pool of AI talent is rising steadily.

These are some of the insights revealed in LinkedIn’s Global Future of Work Report, which takes a deep dive into the emerging role of AI at work. With its unique access to member data, LinkedIn’s report reveals how AI is changing ways of working for professionals, the growing demand for AI skills, how it’s impacting hiring and business leaders' sentiment towards the use of AI.

Search for AI talent is on the rise - and so is upskilling
As AI accelerates change, business leaders are increasingly looking for talent with AI-related skills. The Global Future of Work Report reveals the share of English language job postings mentioning ChatGPT have increased 21x since November 2022, and in APAC, the growth of AI talent hiring has outpaced the growth in overall hiring.

Singapore is hiring 16% more AI talent compared to 2016, while Indonesia leads the charge in Southeast Asia at 20%.

Professionals have clearly noticed this rising demand, and they are picking up AI skills at a rapid pace as a result. LinkedIn members added keywords such as ‘GAI’ and ‘ChatGPT’ 15x more frequently in June than in January, and workers increasingly agree that picking up AI skills will help their career growth.

Additionally, LinkedIn’s recent Global Talent Trends Report, South East Asia Edition shows job posts mentioning AI grew by 2.4x in South East Asia over the last two years. Job seekers are clearly responding positively, as posts mentioning artificial intelligence/generative AI have seen their applications grow by 1.7x in SEA over the last two years, compared with the growth of job posts that don’t mention them.

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The pick up rate for AI skills is higher than the global average in APAC. Singapore leads globally – it has the highest rate of members who have added AI skills to their profiles over time (20x).

With these shifts in the labour market in mind, upskilling and reskilling professionals in AI literacy to prepare them for the future of work has never been more important. The top three AI skills that professionals are picking up in Singapore are Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Deep Learning.

Business leaders agree soft skills are becoming increasingly important

And while AI promises significant gains in productivity, both business leaders and professionals agree that soft skills such as creativity and emotional intelligence are becoming increasingly important, and can never be replaced by AI.

Executives agree that people skills are becoming more critical than ever. The report highlights that since the launch of ChatGPT, some of the fastest-growing skills in job postings are people skills such as flexibility, ethics, social perceptiveness and self-management. In the US, 47% of executives agreed that generative AI would boost productivity - but 92% agreed that people skills were more important than ever.

This indicates that while AI can save time and boost productivity on routine tasks, the meaningful connections forged by people are still at the core of every business.

“Ultimately, when we talk about AI’s impact on work, what we are really talking about is how people will adopt these tools and continue to strengthen the people skills that complement them,” says Karin Kimbrough, LinkedIn Chief Economist.

Frank Koo, Head of Asia, LinkedIn, adds developments in AI, namely generative AI, brings opportunities to professionals’ careers and skills development as well as the world of work.

“In the ever-shifting dynamics of today’s workforce, investing in upskilling is paramount for both companies and professionals. This not only empowers professionals and ensures they stay competitive in the future world of work, but also fortifies organisations, fostering agility and adaptability in the face of evolving challenges.”

“We firmly believe  prioritising skills creates equitable outcomes for everyone. LinkedIn is committed to supporting businesses and empowering professionals through a focus on hiring for skills, as well as skills development, enabling them to thrive and navigate the future world of work,” says Mr Koo.

LinkedIn’s role has never been more critical to help professionals and companies navigate a changing world of work.

LinkedIn is helping companies hire for skills, develop their talent for the skills they need, as well as connect professionals to opportunities.

It is embracing the potential of generative AI, and are embedding it into its technology. In the hands of LinkedIn’s members and customers, these tools will help connect them to opportunities, be more productive, showcase their expertise and skills and gain access to knowledge.

Organisations can use LinkedIn’s tools to upskill their teams, and to find the right match between hirers and job seekers. Here are some of LinkedIn’s most popular tools to date:
AI-assisted messages with LinkedIn Recruiter. This tool helps draft personalised messages to candidates, and to customise fields such as location, skills and workplace type. This allows recruiters to save time and engage with the right candidates quicker, freeing them up to do what’s important - build meaningful connections.
 
AI-powered job descriptions. 75% of hirers want generative AI to free up time for more strategic work, and two-thirds (67%) hope that generative AI can help them uncover new candidates. That's why we're testing AI-powered job descriptions to help hirers find qualified candidates quicker, and to free up time for the more strategic parts of their hiring process.
 
AI-powered learning for faster, more effective skill development.



LinkedIn can kick-start your upskilling journey

To help leaders and professionals with AI upskilling, LinkedIn recently partnered with Microsoft to launch a Professional Certificate on Generative AI, which is free through 2025. As well as unlocked LinkedIn’s 10 AI courses that learners across South East Asia have taken the most in 2023:

Generative AI for Business Leaders, Tomer Cohen
What is Generative AI?, Pinar Seyhan Demirdag
How to Research and Write Using Generative AI Tools, Dave Birss
Machine Learning with Python: Foundations, Frederick Nwanganga
Nano Tips for Using ChatGPT for Business, Rachel Woods
Get Ready for Generative AI, Ashley Kennedy
Introduction to Prompt Engineering for Generative AI, Ronnie Sheer
Prompt Engineering: How to Talk to the AIs, Xavier Amatriain
Python Data Structures and Algorithms, Robin Andrews
GPT-4: The New GPT Release and What You Need to Know, Jonathan Fernandes
These courses are available for everyone to access for free until December 15, 2023.

To get more insights into global AI trends, download LinkedIn’s Global Future of Work Report or read How LinkedIn’s top AI courses Can Shape Your Organisation's Upskilling Strategy

Looking to Hire the right talent faster in Singapore?
Why not sign-up to LinkedIn’s exclusive event at the National Gallery of Singapore - Hire Connect to reimagine hiring with the power of AI. Register now and confirm your attendance here.

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Source: hcamag
Original Content: https://shorturl.at/mW589