India reports highest number of AI, ML jobs during H1 2024: Report Cornerstone's new report highlights a growing workforce readiness gap, as technology and innovation demand continue to outpace workforce skills
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The demand for jobs in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) has been the highest in India (4.1 per cent) during January-July 2024 followed by Germany (2.5 per cent), Japan (2.2 per cent), and the US (2.1 per cent), according to a SkyHive by Cornerstone report titled 'Global State of the Skills Economy'.
The report highlights that AI, ML, and GenAI job postings are on the rise, with AI and ML job postings increasing by 65 per cent since 2019, and GenAI-related job postings seeing a 411 per cent surge. However, the demand for human skills, or soft skills, such as leadership, communication, and emotional intelligence, consistently exceeds the need for digital skills across all regions – globally, human skills are 2 times more in demand than digital skills.
The report states that Augmented Reality (AR)/ Virtual Reality (VR) have seen a 154 per cent increase in job postings over the past 5 years, indicating a sector on the brink of broader adoption as industries explore AR/VR applications that extend beyond entertainment, expanding into training simulations, remote collaboration, and customer experience.
Demand for GenAI skills is not just a tech industry story. Although concentrated in industries like software development and IT consulting, there is a rising demand in financial services, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and banking.
Human skills or soft skills continues to outpace digital skills in North America 2.4 times more and in Europe 2.9 times more. Top human skills related job postings are: communication, interpersonal collaboration and problem-solving.
The report further states that demand for remote and flexible work has seen a 39 per cent increase. Countries like Australia (22.8 per cent) and Germany (21 per cent) are leading with their job postings looking for remote or flexible workers, followed closely by New Zealand (20.3 per cent), the UK (18.8 per cent), the US (15 per cent), Spain (11.6 per cent), Japan (9.7 per cent) and India (6.3 per cent). France (4.9 per cent) and Italy (1.4 per cent) ranked among the lowest.
"Keeping a close watch on changing skills and workplace trends in real-time across the market is essential for forecasting and staying competitive," said Mike Bollinger, Global VP, Strategic Initiatives at Cornerstone. "This report not only reveals the workforce readiness gap, that skills are evolving faster than organizations and individuals can keep pace with, limiting innovation and adaptability, but also emphasizes the importance of retaining critical human or 'soft' skills within your organization."
"While we can never fully predict the future, history remains a critical guide to understanding how technological advancements reshape industries and skill demands," said Bledi Taska, Head of Analytics at SkyHive by Cornerstone. "By combining historical trends with real-time market intelligence, we gain powerful insights into the evolving landscape. For instance, our report highlights the exponential rise of GenAI skills, but history suggests that, like past innovations, we may see these trends stabilize as GenAI becomes embedded into everyday operations. It's this blend of past lessons and real-time data that equips us to anticipate and prepare for what's next in the workforce."
