Johannesburg, 25 Oct 2021
A lack of appropriate skills and aptitude could hamper efforts by organisations to accelerate transformation using AI-powered analytics.
This is according to experts who were speaking ahead of an iOCO – IBM webinar on 'Using AI Powered Analytics for Digital Acceleration'.
Lisa-Giane Fisher, IBM Institute for Business Value leader for the Middle East and Africa, says the IBV’s new research into what the most important workforce skills are in a post-pandemic world reveals that while data science skills are important to organisations, softer skills and other attributes are even more important.
“Fifty percent of both South African and global organisations say a lack of expertise is a top barrier they face in implementing AI. We also find that South African organisations are not investing quite as much as the global average on skills development: None spend more than 75% of their annual learning budget on developing digital skills.”
Particularly interesting, however, is a change in focus in the most important skills and attributes organisations want in their workforces. “In South Africa, 54% cite adaptability to new ways of working as being crucial, compared with 37% globally. This attribute is seen as being just as important as industry or occupation-specific knowledge – which was rated important by 54% both locally and globally. The ability to collaborate in team environments was rated as important by 48% of South African respondents and 50% of global respondents. Data analysis skills to identify new insights was ranked as a key skill by 35% of South African respondents, versus 26% globally, and data science skills were listed as important by only 11% of South African respondents and 21% of global respondents.”
Anthony Marshall, Senior Research Director, Thought Leadership at the IBM IBV, says the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have fast-tracked change in what organisations see as important skills. “Demand for soft skills has risen dramatically – organisations are recognising that they need resources with collaboration and communication skills, and the ability to contextualise and innovate. There is a feeling that technical skills can be brought in or developed or automated. Naturally, employees need an affinity for technology, but because technology moves so fast, it is less about specific technology and more about the ability to understand technology and adapt to change through lifelong learning.”
Marshall and Fisher will be among the experts addressing the upcoming webinar on AI Powered Analytics for Digital Acceleration hosted by iOCO and IBM, in collaboration with ITWeb.
The webinar will release the findings of the IBM Institute for Business Value’s new digital acceleration study, and will assess the factors that accelerate business, why data and analytics efforts can fail, and how IBM is enabling business transformation through its AI-powered analytics innovations. For more information and to register for this event, click here.
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