1 in 3 hiring managers won’t hire workers who don’t have AI skills

Companies are investing heavily in AI, in spite of the fact that they aren’t yet seeing a big return. A recent report from MIT found that 95% of organizations that have adopted AI haven’t seen any return on the investment at all. (However, the 5% of companies who are seeing the return are “extracting millions in value,” according to the report.)

Despite these odds, according to a Nexford University survey of 1,000 U.S. individuals (800 recently laid off workers and 200 hiring managers), companies are increasingly viewing AI as a valuable tool and a must-have for employees. For employees, AI might just be the key to surviving layoffs, or the necessary qualification for landing the next job.

According to the survey, layoffs are happening at an astonishingly high rate: 65% of companies conducted layoffs in the past 12 months. While 68% of companies identified cost-cutting as the reason for layoffs, 32% mentioned “skill mismatch,” and 31% and 27% cited “company strategy shift” and “AI adoption,” respectively.

In fact, almost half (49%) of employers say they’re more likely to retain the workers with strong AI skills. Likewise, when it comes to new hires, employers want workers who understand AI. About one-third (29%) of hiring managers said they are exclusively hiring employees who are proficient with AI.

Workers are catching on. Nearly one in five recently laid-off workers (19%) say AI adoption contributed to them being let go, and this increases for younger workers: 23% of Gen Z workers said AI was behind their layoff, as do 21% of millennials, compared to just 14% of Gen X and baby boomers.

Many laid-off workers are taking action. Since losing their jobs, two thirds are focusing on reskilling. A quarter are studying coding, while 22% are studying AI fundamentals and another 22% are studying prompt-engineering. To reskill, over half (56%) use YouTube and other online tutorials to enhance their skill set, and 39% are taking an online course.

On average, respondents who are focusing on upskilling are spending an average of six hours a week on learning, with a third of that time focused on AI specific skills. However, nearly a quarter of respondents (24%) pointed out cost is a barrier to upskiling, and more than one in five (21%) say they aren’t sure what they should be learning to make themselves hirable while 17% point to time constraints.

Regardless of the value AI brings to the table, it’s clear at the moment employers see it as a necessary skillset and workers are following their lead.