By 2027, 80% of AI Professionals to Require Upskilling, Predicts Gartner - Prepare for the Future of Work

A recent Gartner report predicts that the rise of Generative AI technology will lead to a surge in new roles within software engineering and operations by 2027. This shift is expected to require 80% of the workforce to enhance their skill sets to meet the demand. Key among these skills is retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), a method that enhances the precision and dependability of Generative AI models. The need for highly skilled AI engineers who can cater to the growing demand for AI-driven software is paramount. Despite assumptions that AI could diminish the need for human engineers or even replace them, Philip Walsh, a Senior Principal Analyst at the consultancy, believes that AI will, in fact, transform the role of software engineers in the future. According to Walsh, human expertise and creativity are crucial for delivering complex and innovative software solutions.

In the short term, AI tools are expected to provide modest productivity gains by augmenting existing developer workflows and tasks, particularly benefiting senior developers in organizations with well-established engineering practices. In the medium term, the emergence of AI agents will revolutionize developer workflows by enabling automation of additional tasks. This shift will usher in the era of AI-native software engineering, where most code will be generated by AI rather than written by humans. Consequently, software engineers will need to adopt an "AI-first" approach focused on guiding AI agents to the most relevant context and constraints for each task.

This shift will necessitate the development of skills like natural-language prompt engineering and RAG expertise among software engineers. Looking ahead, Gartner predicts that advances in AI will further push boundaries, resulting in the emergence of AI engineering as a more efficient approach. Organizations will thus require additional skilled software engineers and AI experts to meet the escalating demand for AI-powered software solutions. According to a Gartner survey of 300 U.S. and U.K. organizations conducted in the fourth quarter of 2023, 56% of software engineering leaders identified AI/machine learning (ML) engineers as the most sought-after role for 2024, emphasizing the skills gap in applying AI/ML to applications.

To support these professionals, organizations must invest in AI developer platforms to enhance their AI capabilities and seamlessly integrate AI into enterprise solutions at scale. This investment necessitates the upskilling of data engineering and platform engineering teams to leverage tools and processes that foster the continuous integration and development of AI artifacts, as highlighted by Walsh.