Dive Brief:
- In preparation for a demanding job market, 89% of job-seekers said they “recognize the importance of digital fluency skills,” according to a CompTIA report released March 12.
- Job-seekers are fatigued by time to hire and are frustrated by unwieldy, unclear job postings, per survey feedback.
- Workers across the board — including non-active job-seekers — are also looking to beef up their skill set. So-called “soft” or “professional” skills topped workers’ learning wishlist; workers also expressed the desire for more skills-building in data analysis, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, the report said.
Dive Insight:
AI at work continues to be a tricky area of conversation especially regarding the future-proofing of individual resumes and entire businesses. A recent Oxford University study confirmed that AI skills are attractive to recruiters — and are even worth a pay bump in the U.K.
Meanwhile, data from talent firm General Assembly suggested that the AI skills hiring boom may need more thought: 75% of HR professionals at AI tech companies said they believe their employer is “hiring AI talent without taking the time to build sustainable pipelines of qualified and high-potential candidates,” per the 2025 State of Tech Talent report.
Of the companies using AI-enabled tech, 99% of HR professionals therein “reported increases in requests to add AI skills to job requirements for non-AI focused roles.”
Employers are placing a hard emphasis on AI skills, according to General Assembly, and job-seekers are cognizant that AI skills are necessary to be competitive, according to CompTIA.
Caught in between the employer-employee war of wills are HR professionals, whose use of AI in recruiting and hiring may make job-seekers (65% of them, according to ServiceNow) uncomfortable.
Despite the mismatch in sentiments about the tech itself, AI may well be here to stay. “Despite the challenges, there have never been more resources available to navigate career change,” Amy Carrado, CompTIA’s senior director of workforce research, said in a statement.
