What does ‘AI experience required’ mean? Employers listing it may not even know
There were 470,000 job postings for tech-related positions in May, more than half of which were new openings posted last month, according to technology industry trade group CompTIA.
The D.C. area, along with New York City and Dallas continue to lead IT job postings nationwide.
IT-related job postings requiring artificial intelligence skills have more than doubled in the last year, up 117%. But what exactly employers are looking for when seeking AI experience can be vague.
Artificial intelligence is an increasingly important skill for job seekers in technology, and for many jobs in general.
“We definitely see employers throwing this term onto their job requirements,” said Seth Robinson, vice president of industry research at CompTIA. “Companies and employers and organizations want to use new technologies in their job postings. They’ve heard about it. They don’t understand it fully, but they put it on their job postings.”
That is not necessarily helpful for job seekers. They may have AI skills, but the degree to which they have experience may not meet the requirements of the job opening they are applying for. Robinson said companies need to be clear and up front in their postings.
“Are we talking about the skills in programming, artificial intelligence algorithms, or modeling data? I think there has to be a little bit more specificity there,” he said. “And so we’re hoping to see things like artificial intelligence get a little bit more granular, a little bit more specific and a little bit more realistic.”
While AI skills requirements have more than doubled in tech job postings, employers continue to put less emphasis on education. CompTIA said only about half of tech-related job postings in May listed a traditional four-year college degree as a requirement, instead, they list some combination of work experience, training and industry recognized certification.
“I think we are seeing companies open their doors a little bit more broadly, which helps them broaden their candidate pool, especially in spaces where demand is exceeding supply,” Robinson said. “We are definitely seeing some loosening of college requirements there.”
Another shift in technology-related job requirements CompTIA is noticing is its integration into many more jobs outside of technology. A candidate may not be applying for a technology-related job, but it is increasingly likely that non-tech jobs have technology requirements.
“You’re going to see employers who want to blend technology skills with other disciplines,” Robinson said. “So I think you are going to see that happening where companies are more willing to re-skill or upskill someone who doesn’t come from a traditional technology background, and get them into a technology role.”
Tech sector job growth in May was modest. CompTIA said job growth in cloud infrastructure and tech services was offset by reductions in the telecommunications sector.
Tech occupation employment across the economy declined by 131,000 positions, though tech occupation employment remains positive for the year.
The unemployment rate among technology workers in May was 3.4%, much lower than the overall national unemployment rate of 4.2%.