- AI skills are being tied to pay rises and employment opportunities
- 97% would pay higher salaries to attract in-demand skills
- Four in five companies are investing in upskilling schemes
New research from HiBob has claimed AI skills have evolved from being ‘nice to haves’ to core requirements for employers, to the point that workers with the right AI skills are most likely to get a job promotion.
The report reveals that nearly two-thirds (63%) of UK businesses now link AI skills to promotion decisions, with nearly as many (61%) also factoring AI capabilities into regular performance reviews.
Around half as many – 31% of all respondents – also directly connect AI proficiency to pay decisions, making it a poor fiscal decision for workers not to upskill.
Companies are actively recruiting for AI skills
While resistant workers may feel that the shift is unfair, it reflects similar changes from previous decades, with AI literacy increasingly being treated like digital literacy or spreadsheet proficiency.
As for what AI literacy means, workers are no longer expected to simply use artificial intelligence. Employers now want them to be able to apply them responsibly, efficiently and consistently.
Two-fifths (41%) said that safety, governance and ethics are the hardest expertise to recruit for, which makes sense because it’s an ongoing conversation that’s also happening at a much higher level, with tech giants and governments collaborating to minimize the negative impacts of AI.
Three in four (77%) employers now believe that moderate AI proficiency will become a baseline requirement within the next two years, including across non-technical roles.
This shows the technology expanding beyond the realms of software developers into areas like HR, marketing, sales, operations and administration.
What does AI upskilling and implementation look like?
The data indicates that nearly all (97%) organizations would pay higher salaries for in-demand AI skills – 43% would pay a 10% premium for expertise in AI safety, ethics and governance specifically.
Other areas that could command a higher salary include being able to evaluate and improve AI outputs, and automation and technical integration skills.
While it’s unclear for how long employers will pay these premiums, only 3% currently say they won’t pay a premium, suggesting that at least short-term pay rises are on the cards just from a worker’s willingness to upskill.
Thankfully, organizations are prepared to support workers who are willing to put in the work, making it a win-win situation for employees. Four in five (82%) companies are investing in AI upskilling or reskilling schemes, with funded learning programmes (33%) and protected time for AI experimentation and practice (33%) emerging as the most frequently employed methods.
Nearly all the respondents (99%) also acknowledged the importance of peer coaching and knowledge sharing.
However, the report centers mostly around white collar workers, recognizing that higher-level managers aren’t always getting the support they need to be able to deliver these initiatives.
“The next phase of AI adoption will depend on how well businesses equip their managers to turn AI from a tool into a consistent way of working,” Director of Insights Ken Matos commented.
The ROI for companies investing in AI can be there, too, with many seeing an uptick in quality and accuracy (32%), compliance and risk reduction (29%), time saved (25%) and cost savings (25%).
“The challenge for organisations is turning that expectation into something practical. That means defining what strong AI capability looks like, embedding it into roles and performance, and giving managers the confidence to assess and develop it,” Matos concluded.
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