Preparing Your Business for AI Today, Tomorrow and Beyond

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Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is unlike any technology before it. It’s disrupting business and society, forcing leaders to rethink their assumptions, plans, and strategies in real time.

Eager to boost competitiveness and reap the rewards of AI, a large proportion of organizations have already kicked off their AI journey. IBM’s 2023 Global AI Adoption Index showed that 42% of large enterprises have actively deployed AI, while 40% are in the experimentation phase. 

This trend is also reflected in the UAE, where the study reveals that 65% of IT professionals have reported a significant acceleration in AI rollout over the past 24 months. The UAE’s proactive approach sets a benchmark for AI implementation in the region, with a remarkable 42% of companies already integrating AI into their business operations.

Despite this enthusiasm, barriers to deployment remain. The same survey found that limited AI skills and expertise (33%), too much data complexity (25%), and ethical concerns (23%) were the main issues holding AI adoption back. 

The fact that limited skills is the number one issue demonstrates how the demand for AI skills is rapidly outstripping the supply. Businesses need help to fill the gap and are questioning what skills are the most necessary and important. 

Businesses need to address this question sooner rather than later to ensure the technology generates a proper return on investment so they can be confident that they have the skills to embrace the golden age of AI. In the UAE, investments in AI focus strategically on research and development and workforce upskilling, which is crucial for sustaining AI growth and innovation.

The Skills Disconnect

Workplaces have been in flux for the past four years following the pandemic, and the accelerated uptake of AI over the last 12 months has intensified the pace of change. Yet, there is a disconnect among leaders on how prepared they are to manage this shift. While 74% of CEOs say their teams are appropriately skilled in generative AI, only 29% of their C-suite agree. 

Confusion like this can delay the AI upskilling needed to propel a business forward and ensure workers are prepared. Because of this disconnect, Gartner predicts that we will not see AI reach its full potential until 2035 or 2040.

Business leaders should focus on upskilling and reskilling by investing resources and time into their workforce. This will not only meet the demands of the current landscape but will ensure organizations are better equipped to prepare for further innovation down the line. 

There is no quick and easy solution, but by following a three-pronged approach – training staff in data and AI skills, infusing AI technologies to automate mundane tasks, freeing up humans for higher-value work, and making workers part of the AI journey – companies can succeed in narrowing the skills gap and creating trust in AI. 

The benefits of doing so speak for themselves. Tech adopters who succeed at reskilling to accommodate technology-driven job changes have reported an average revenue growth rate premium of 15% compared to other tech adopters. The value added is even greater for those who emphasize AI: they see a 36% higher revenue growth rate than their peers.

Investing in a New Era of Training

In today’s golden age of AI, collaboration between government and businesses is critical to ensure people’s skills are -market-relevant and future-proofed. The UAE’s emphasis on workforce upskilling and AI education collaborations reflects this approach. These offerings build on IBM’s commitment to training two million learners in AI by the end of 2026, focusing on underrepresented communities. 

This is underway through expanding AI education collaborations with universities, collaborating with partners to deliver AI training to adult learners, and launching generative AI coursework through IBM SkillsBuild, a free online education program. 

Of course, no long-lasting progress can be made without collaboration across the industry. That’s why, in April this year, we joined a group of eight leading companies to launch the AI-Enabled Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Workforce Consortium focused on upskilling and reskilling for roles most likely to be impacted by AI. 

Driven by the work of the US-EU Trade and Technology Council’s Talent for Growth Taskforce, the aim is to explore AI’s impact on ICT job roles, enabling workers to find and access relevant training programs and connecting businesses to skilled and job-ready workers. 

The consortium will benefit multiple stakeholders, including students, career changers, current IT workers, employers, and educators, so upskilling in the AI era can happen at scale.

Future-Proofing Success

For AI adoption to continue and thrive, the conversation must move from simply asking, “What skills does my business need today?” to “What skills will my business need in the next decade?” Future-proofing success requires a joint effort from governments and businesses to prepare the workforce for new applications of AI and accomplish goals faster than ever before. 

This means providing people with the relevant skills to work confidently, creatively, and responsibly with AI, ensuring that the UAE and the broader Middle East region remain at the forefront of technological innovation.