AI roles now dominate the highest paying UK IT jobs with 97% of IT jobs in the UK that pay over £100,000 now requiring AI skills as a core requirement of the role*, according to research by Thomson Reuters, a global content and technology company.
An analysis of over 5,300 live tech jobs advertised in April 2024 found that over 73% (593 out of 817) of the top 15% highest paid vacancies required AI skills.
Demand for AI talent has boomed in the last year, with a wide range of novel specialist roles being advertised including Director of Artificial Intelligence and Products, Generative AI Solutions Architect and Machine Learning Engineer.
28% of all IT job openings now require AI skills in either their job title or within their primary requirement, with demand for these skillsets increasing in the higher salary brackets.
Research from Oxford University and the University of Copenhagen found that having AI skills allows workers to add an average 21% skill premium to their salary**.
“Across corporates and the professions, the demand for AI talent is continuing to accelerate at a remarkable pace,” says Mary Alice Vuicic, chief people officer at Thomson Reuters.
“Companies are now required to not just embrace change, but to actively participate in shaping and directing it,” says Vuicic. “As companies begin to implement these emerging technologies, they’re investing in the right talent to lead that process.”
“As well looking at new hires, businesses also need to build trust across their teams to bring their whole organisations with them on their AI journey. This includes fostering understanding and knowledge of AI, its impact on the workplace, and highlighting the benefits of AI. This will help provide a supportive and effective environment for AI learning and adoption across organisations.”
This comes as Thomson Reuters, in their 2024 Generative AI in Professional Services report, identified that more than half (54%) of professionals in corporations, law and accounting firms and government organisations believe GenAI should be applied to their work, while just 16% said it should not***.
“By removing the more repetitive and administrative elements of certain jobs, AI presents the opportunity to boost productivity for high-skilled workers as they can focus on more valuable tasks. Bringing in the right expertise is crucial to ensure this implementation can be scaled smoothly to all parts of the business, and existing staff can receive appropriate training and skills development,” Vuicic added.
*This research was carried out on a job aggregator on Indeed, on which 5,301 live job openings in the IT industry were analysed. ‘Roles fundamentally requiring AI skills’ have been defined as roles with AI in their title (i.e. AI Trainer, AI Content Writer), or roles where AI skills are listed as a requirement or one of the role’s primary responsibilities.
**University of Oxford and University of Copenhagen research, October 2023
***Thomson Reuters Institute – 2024 State of the Corporate Law Department, April 2024