{"id":6411,"date":"2025-05-07T05:12:59","date_gmt":"2025-05-07T05:12:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/?p=6411"},"modified":"2025-05-14T21:27:14","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T21:27:14","slug":"briefing-ai-skills-identification-and-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ceo-worldwide.com\/blog\/briefing-ai-skills-identification-and-development\/","title":{"rendered":"Briefing: AI Skills Identification and Development"},"content":{"rendered":"
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AI is transforming the workforce.\u00a0The following paper focuses on the impacts to talent development and recaps the research and innovative approaches companies are using to increase the new and necessary skills and competencies required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The demand and supply gap for AI talent<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As we know, AI and machine learning skills are among the most in-demand skills across industries, but the supply of qualified professionals is extremely limited. This creates a talent crunch and a competitive advantage for organizations that can attract and retain AI talent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The conundrum of build, buy, and borrow (or partner as McKinsey puts it) is not a new one to HR.  There are several models and recommendations for HR in closing the demand and supply gap. Below is one example of a build\/buy\/borrow decision making model for illustrative purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n

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However, with the AI talent gap, the speed of recruiting, developing, or identifying partners has been rapidly accelerated and is parallel to the speed of technology change itself. Ultimately, a hybrid approach that combines the benefits of retaining and developing current talent with the infusion of new skills and perspectives from external hires may be the most effective. This approach allows for the most balanced and strategic implementation of AI capabilities within the company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The key competencies and strategies for AI talent development<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

AI talent development requires a mix of technical, soft, and business skills to fulfill the future needs of an organization looking to compete in the AI space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s crucial for organizations to assess their investment in development strategies while simultaneously identifying the necessary skills and jobs. This approach enables the integration of specific skills into predetermined development strategies, thus avoiding unnecessary delays.  Below are three solutions which are effective, fast, and right sized for F5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solution 1: Identify employees with adjacent skills and develop a reskilling learning program<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Beginning with a skills inventory of current employees, which can be accomplished in Workday, identification, and selection of employees to enroll in a reskilling program through Coursera or Pluralsight which F5 currently has unused licenses to consider distributing (not managed by HR).<\/p>\n\n\n

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Sample Reskilling Program – 6 months in length<\/h3>\n\n\n
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Solution 2: Create an AI boot camp to build our own talent pipeline<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To attract and develop a diverse pool of talent for AI roles, F5 would design and launch an AI boot camp that offers intensive training with no programming experience required. The boot camp would aim to equip the participants with the foundational skills and knowledge needed to pursue a career in AI at F5 specifically, such as programming, data science, machine learning, and AI ethics combined with an introduction to our current products. The bootcamp would conclude with a capstone project which could feasibly provide F5 with usable work products and use of the applied learning to determine candidates\u2019 employment prospects at F5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sample AI Bootcamp Curriculum<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The AI boot camp curriculum consists of four modules, each lasting six weeks and covering a different aspect of AI. The modules are as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n

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The boot camp concludes with a capstone project, in which participants work in teams to design and develop an AI solution for a specific business challenge or opportunity at F5. The project involves applying the skills and knowledge acquired throughout the boot camp, as well as conducting research, prototyping, testing, and presenting the solution. The project serves as both a showcase of the participants’ abilities and a potential source of innovation and value for F5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solution 3: Social Learning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the benefits of social learning is that it can help the company to easily upskill its employees in practical ways, without requiring a lot of resources or formal training. Social learning can include mentoring, group projects such as hackathons, and other collaborative activities that allow employees to share their knowledge, experience, and insights with each other. Social learning can also foster a culture of innovation, curiosity, and community, which are essential for AI adoption and implementation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Example: Redhat Uses mentoring to close the skills gap<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In 2018, Red Hat standardized its existing mentoring initiatives and made its programs more inclusive and accessible to everyone in the organization and focused on upskilling employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People were matched based on the competencies they wanted to develop and utilizing the matching feature from withing their mentoring management software. Their mentoring cycles ran for 6 months with specific upskilling goal to be accomplished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Results<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Red Hat enjoyed the fruit of its thoughtful labors across multiple areas, including retention, employee development, program satisfaction, and program ROI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n