AI to create 320,000 jobs in UK

Artificial intelligence is too often presented as a force that will invade global economies and take jobs, but new research shows that the opposite will be true in Britain, as in most other major economies. AI will take over workers’ tedious tasks (saving more than a quarter of the working week for some) and bring about a new wave of productivity. As we have seen with previous technological revolutions, the overall effect will be a net gain in employment, driven by a boom in the IT sector. Implementing and overseeing AI technologies will require an additional 610,000 new jobs in Britain, leading to a net gain of 310,000 jobs by 2028, as well as an increase in demand for people with the right mix of technological skills.

The new global study from Pearson and ServiceNow used machine learning to analyze data from labor market sources across multiple countries. The study predicts that most developed economies will see employment growth, with particularly strong growth in developing countries, Britain, and the United States. This growth will be fueled by strong demand for new roles in AI, and in the IT sector in general.

For business leaders, this new era presents immense opportunities for efficiency improvements, with AI helping organizations and employees work smarter and more productively, while simultaneously creating unprecedented business value. Business leaders and governments must also ensure that employees have the opportunity to acquire the new skills they need to thrive in a decade defined by emerging technologies.

New ways of working

AI will simplify and speed up many tasks currently performed by UK workers and is expected to generate productivity gains equivalent to 2.88 million full-time jobs. As AI takes over tedious and repetitive tasks across many sectors, tech-related roles will be in high demand, providing new opportunities for ambitious job seekers.

By 2028, the most in-demand roles will be IT and information systems managers, with a demand for 27,200 new roles in Britain, followed by developers (20,800 new roles) and data engineers (9,400 new roles). Technology will also enable workers to significantly increase their efficiency, with system administrators “reclaiming” up to 12.6 hours per week due to the impact of emerging technologies such as AI.

Different sectors, different impacts

AI will have very different impacts across industries: most industries will see growth, a few industries will see mixed impact, and some will see decline. In industries such as retail and financial services, tech roles unrelated to implementing emerging technologies such as AI will disappear, while AI-related roles will increase. For example, in financial services, demand for data scientists, data engineers, and data integration specialists will increase, but demand for data analysts will decline.

But the overall impact will be positive, with some sectors experiencing explosive growth. In particular, the technology, media and telecommunications sector will thrive as the economy shifts to new ways of working based on AI. The sector will see 320,000 new roles focused on implementing new technologies, according to ServiceNow research. Education, similarly, will flourish with 190,000 new roles, while healthcare will see 90,000 new jobs. Retail in particular will see a decline, with 240,000 fewer positions by 2028, and there will also be overall declines in manufacturing (90,000) and financial services (50,000).

A world story

Demand for labor will increase worldwide, and nowhere will it be stronger than in emerging markets. Emerging economies like India will see huge gains, with up to 34 million new jobs created to support an annual growth rate of 6.3% over the next five years. The country’s tech workforce is expected to nearly double. Globally, demand for labor will be stronger than ever, and productivity gains from emerging technologies will be the main reason why the labor shortage is not more extreme.

Britain is extremely well placed to drive employment growth, with growth in the telecommunications, media and technology sector ranking second in the world after the US. The US is expected to create an additional 1 million jobs by 2028, with this growth being driven by an additional 2.04 million tech jobs needed to implement technologies such as AI. A very small number of countries (Germany and Japan) will see their workforce decline, likely due to their ageing populations, highlighting the need for innovative recruitment strategies.

Managing the evolution of skills

We are entering a new era where technology will amplify human potential. For business leaders and governments, enabling employees to upskill and reskill is critical to thriving, especially in industries that may see a decline in demand. For business leaders, fostering a culture that encourages and enables employees to experiment with AI has never been more important. Company culture is notoriously difficult to change because it is built over time, through repeated daily actions. To drive true cultural change around AI, leaders must lead by example and enable their employees to connect with technology.

This helps to better understand the applications of AI, its implications and, above all, its benefits, both for employees and for the entire company. Developers are a good example. For them, in particular, AI has the potential to revolutionize the way they work, by simplifying coding and building flows. By helping developers upskill and take advantage of the many benefits of AI, they can free themselves from tedious and repetitive tasks and help the company reduce IT backlogs and drive innovation.

Business leaders should implement tools (ideally self-service learning platforms) to enable workers to acquire new skills, as well as programs that identify transferable skills and create new career paths within the workforce. Digitally delivered training and talent development initiatives can help employers uncover “hidden skills” employees may already possess and create personalized pathways for employees to make the most of their talents. Training initiatives can also identify “non-technical” employees with common skills and help them integrate into the tech workforce, as well as identify individuals whose roles are at higher risk of automation and help them reskill.

New opportunities

Every new technological era usually comes with fears of job losses, but in the case of AI, this study shows that these fears are unfounded. Rather than job losses, emerging technologies such as AI will herald an era of opportunity.

Most sectors in Britain will benefit from this IT boom, but business leaders must ensure that they put people first. Organisations need human-centric guidelines that ensure users know when to use AI and when not to (and, crucially, that they know when they are using it). Diverse teams and diverse datasets are essential to using AI safely, mitigating bias and promoting fairness.

Transparency and open communication around AI and its benefits are paramount to ensuring employees feel comfortable engaging with the technology and contributing to unprecedented business value.