The Health Institute
research and strategy institute for
in-person health strategy and
digital health strategy
Joaquim Cardoso MSc
Chief Researcher for The Health Institute — research unit
Chief Editor for The Health Institute — knowledge portal
Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) — for The Health Institute — strategy consulting
Senior Advisor — for The Health Institute — advisory consulting
July 7, 2023
ONE PAGE SUMMARY
One in four people intends to switch careers by the end of the year.
- ChatGPT, a generative AI technology, is reducing demand for certain skills, making it harder for individuals to change careers.
- The banking industry, for example, has experienced a cooling off in the war for tech talent due to AI’s ability to handle software development and coding tasks.
Talent mobility across industries is being limited as AI reduces the need for external hires with different skill sets.
- Lateral career moves offer benefits to both employees and employers, but AI has made companies less enthusiastic about hiring from outside their industry.
The requirements for career switchers are becoming more stringent, making it harder to make a successful transition.
- AI will ultimately lead to increased talent mobility as companies learn to integrate human skills with technology.
Transferable skills such as coding, risk management, decision-making, agility, and adaptability remain highly relevant in the AI era.
AI-powered platforms and remote work can break down geographical barriers and expand career mobility.
AI can also enhance opportunities for talent to reskill, upskill, and forge new paths internally, opening new doors for career growth.
DEEP DIVE
Will AI Trip Up Career Shifts?
Korn Ferry
July, 2023
At first, Jim wasn’t too concerned about being laid off from his engineering job at a major tech firm. He’d been thinking about leaving the industry anyway, and figured engineers were in demand at lots of other companies. What he quickly discovered, however, was that his skills weren’t as in demand as he thought-thanks to ChatGPT.
Only two years ago, amid the pandemic, people were switching careers at a record pace, with companies paying handsome premiums to scoop up talent with needed skills. Now, however, as companies ramp up their use of generative AI, people-even tech workers-may find it much more difficult to change careers. In the banking industry, for instance, the war for tech talent has cooled off significantly, in part because AI can handle many of the software development and coding tasks engineers were being hired to do. Bradford Frank, a senior client partner in the Global Technology practice at Korn Ferry, says AI’s ability to reduce demand for certain skills could “limit talent mobility across industries.”
While much of the conversation around AI centers on whether it will enhance or replace jobs, the impact on talent mobility could end up being an even bigger concern for leaders. Moving laterally between industries, or horizontally to a different function within the same industry, has benefits for both employees and employers, say experts. For employees, lateral moves can help open new career paths and provide advancement opportunities. For employers, career switchers bring valued and needed skills as well as an outside perspective.
That dynamic was never more evident than during the pandemic, when roughly 20% of workers switched careers. But David Ellis, vice president of global TA transformation at Korn Ferry, says AI has made companies less bullish about hiring from outside the industry and that they are “tightening up requirements again.” That means that the one in four workers planning to switch careers by the end of this year is likely to face a higher bar than their colleagues formerly did, say experts.
Still, experts believe AI will ultimately lead to more mobility for talent-not less-as companies sort through how to marry humans with the technology. “While AI will alleviate some pressure, the need for transferrable skills remains highly relevant,” says Tanyth Lloyd, global vice president for technology and transformation in the Recruitment Process Outsourcing practice at Korn Ferry. Those include hard skills like coding as well as soft skills like risk management, decision-making, agility, and adaptability.
Frank also notes that AI-powered platforms, combined with remote work, can enable professionals to connect with job opportunities by breaking down geographical barriers and expanding mobility. Moreover, Ellis says AI can improve opportunities for talent to reskill, upskill, and forge new career paths internally. “Talent will have some doors to mobility closed because of AI,” he says, “but other doors with new opportunities will open as well.”
Learn more about Korn Ferry’s Workforce Transformation capabilities.
Originally published at https://www.kornferry.com.
