Artificial intelligence expertise has become the most in-demand skill among UK IT managers in 2024, a survey has found, overtaking strategic thinking and the ability to tackle business-level issues.

In August, open-source software firm Red Hat surveyed 609 global IT managers from businesses with more than 500 employees, including at least a hundred from the UK, about the technical areas they find most difficult to hire for.

AI, including data science, large language models and generative AI, was most in demand in the country, cited by 81%. This represents an increase of 9% compared to October 2023, when the previous survey was taken.

Indeed, a separate report from June found that UK-based hiring managers will pay an average of 45% more for those with demonstrable expertise in areas such as natural language processing, AI content creation and chatbot development.

Conversely, the demand for strategic thinking among UK IT managers has fallen from 73% to 68% in the last 10 months.

SEE: UK trails behind Europe in technical skills

AI is also the most in-demand skill worldwide

Sam Marland, a senior manager of Solution Architecture at Red Hat, said the need for AI skills has grown as executives see the power of consumer-grade chatbots, such as ChatGPT and Gemini, and want to leverage them for their own businesses.

He told TechRepublic via email, “We can draw a parallel to the beginning of mobile computing when it was unclear exactly how the iPhone and other technologies would combine. Looking back now, we see changes to the retail and banking experience and associated changes to the high street, which were not predicted.

“Companies looking to understand AI are also looking for leadership on how future changes will play out, how regulations may change, and how best to use their data to drive these new customer experiences.

“This means companies are moving from what they currently do with analytics, data science and statistical modeling to something new. We’re seeing a lot of interest in AI demos and tests without really knowing where the key value will come from.”

AI is also the most in-demand skill globally, with 71% of all respondents noting a skills gap.

The desire for cyber security skills is also increasing

The demand for cyber security skills in the UK has also increased from 69% to 75% in the past 10 months, likely related to the series of high profile cyber attacks. Marland attributed this to global tensions, with more nation-state actors working on vulnerabilities, and GenAI lowering the bar of entry for cyberattacks.

“Generative AI simplifies attacks for people with little to no skill and helps people with a lot of skill form more sophisticated attacks,” he told TechRepublic.

SEE: Report reveals impact of AI on cybersecurity landscape

He added that businesses are taking an “increasingly holistic” approach to technology skills. Instead of focusing narrowly on specific technical skills, they emphasize the broader impact of technology, such as in sustainability.

Marland told TechRepublic, “With the need to address sustainability concerns, organizations are looking for the ability to monitor and optimize workloads—especially but not only AI workloads—to build sustainability strategies and be strong on AI ethics.”

At the same time, tighter budgets mean managers are looking to address skills gaps in AI and cyber with technical solutions. The shortages “underscore the need for ongoing investment in workforce development and smart partnerships beyond the organization’s walls,” according to senior vice president of Red Hat EMEA, Hans Roth.

Marland added: “This year, infrastructure and operations groups built self-service capabilities to enable the developer, with an emphasis on internal services that provide faster time to market through cloud-native development and greater scalability.

“As AI is added to a wide range of systems and management tools, it becomes critical to add automated control and compliance at scale. Policy as Code is essential to achieving efficiency and maintaining control and compliance.”

Learn more about bridging the security skills gap in a panel discussion by the ISC2, or check out some of the best AI courses for 2024.