AI workforce consortium finds 78% of ICT roles now include AI technical skills

Today, the AI Workforce Consortium released its second study, “ICT in Motion: The Next Wave of AI Integration,” which finds that AI roles now dominate tech market growth. Led by Cisco , the Consortium is a private sector collaboration that includes industry leaders Accenture, Cornerstone, Eightfold AI, Google, IBM, Indeed, Intel, Microsoft and SAP.

Based on extensive job posting data from Cornerstone and Indeed between July 2024 to June 2025 across G7 countries, including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, this latest edition arrives at a pivotal moment as AI continues to reshape economies, societies and global governance. Building on last year’s inaugural report, the 2025 analysis examines 50 ICT and specialized support roles, offering new insights into emerging AI-specific jobs, regional job creation and the skills workers need to remain competitive.

Key Findings from the 2025 Report

• AI Skills are Now Pervasive for Tech Jobs: 78% of the job roles analyzed include AI skills, highlighting a shift in role requirements across the G7.
• AI Roles Dominate Technology Job Market Growth: 7 of the 10 fastest-growing ICT roles are AI-related, including AI/ML Engineer, AI Risk & Governance Specialist and NLP Engineer.
• AI Ethics and Governance Skills Remain Critical: Demand for skills in AI Governance is +150% and AI Ethics +125%, reflecting the need for expertise at the intersection of technology, law and ethics.
• Critical Technical Skills Deficit and Rising Importance of Human Skills: The skills deficit has reached critical levels in areas such as generative AI, large language models (LLMs), prompt engineering, AI ethics and AI security, while human skills like communication, collaboration and leadership are increasingly prioritized for responsible technology adoption.
• Surge in Specialized AI Skills: The AI landscape is quickly shifting from chatbots to agents, driving demand for specialized skills, including AI security +298%, foundation model adaptation +267%, responsible AI +256% and multi-agent systems +245%.
• Accelerated AI Job Growth Driven by Tech Hubs:Silicon Valley leads with a 156% increase in AI jobs, followed by London and Toronto, underscoring their status as global AI powerhouses, while Manchester, Lyon and Vancouver are emerging hubs with over 70% AI job growth.

“As AI reshapes our world and work, people remain at the center,” said Francine Katsoudas, Chief People, Policy & Purpose Officer, Cisco. “This year’s report makes clear that AI skills open exciting new doors, but it’s the combination of technical expertise and human strengths like collaboration and leadership that will truly shape a brighter future. We are committed to building a workforce that is ready for this new era of growth, and to give people everywhere the opportunity to learn, contribute and benefit.”

Resources to Empower Employees and Organizations

Collectively, Consortium members have committed to upskilling and reskilling 95 million individuals worldwide over the next decade. In support of this goal, the Consortium is introducing new resources to empower workers and organizations—available through an interactive AI chatbot, including:

• AI Workforce Playbook: A guide to align workforce development with business and AI goals, featuring real-world use cases and data-driven insights to address skill gaps for secure, responsible AI adoption.
• Updated Learning Recommendations: A database of 200+ curated courses with job-specific guidance on emerging technical and AI skills to help individuals and organizations adapt to technological change.
• AI Skills Glossary: A comprehensive resource aimed at standardizing AI skills across education, industry and policy, reflecting the latest platforms and tools shaping AI in 2025.

Echoing the call for urgent AI skills development, Ashutosh Garg, Co-founder and CEO, Eightfold AI said,  “The 2025 ICT report emphasizes just how fast organizations are hiring and upskilling talent to support AI initiatives. However, it’s critical that organizations have C-level support and a human-centric design in AI initiatives to ensure the transformational results that they seek. Otherwise, these initiatives will often fail with poor adoption rates and expose organizations to significant ethical and governance risks that are hard to recover from. The AI Workforce Consortium’s Playbook is an outstanding guide to help their organizations implement sound initiatives.”

Himanshu Palsule, Chief Executive Officer, Cornerstone added, “We know from this year’s report, along with past analysis, that skills demands and job requirements around AI are rising exponentially and will only continue to grow. But AI demand in technical roles also brings an increasing need for human skills alongside it, and an urgency for organizations to develop the workforce for the future. Preparing organizations and their people for that culture of agility and adaptability will be essential to thrive and succeed.”