With The World Economic Forum predicting that as many as one billion jobs will be transformed by technology over the next decade, research from social enterprise Code First Girls and Tech Talent Charter has outlined the need for upskilling and reskilling across areas including AI as solutions advance.

Building Tomorrow’s Workforce: Inclusive Skills Development in the Age of AI calls on technology leaders to prioritise professional development programmes to ensure women are empowered, confident and have the tools they need to learn and grow.

Learning and development has long been seen as a sidelined employee perk (that may or may not be used), and the responsibility of HR rather than a strategic imperative. According to an analysis by Boston Consulting Group, only 24% of companies put skill-building efforts in the context of corporate strategy.

Further, only 41% of Code First Girls members have been given the opportunity to upskill in the workplace.

There are great benefits for morale, retention and loyalty if upskilling and reskilling is done right. Data from the Boston Consulting Group found 68% of workers are aware of coming disruptions in their fields and are willing to upskill or reskill to remain competitively employed.

This is now becoming even more urgent, particularly for underrepresented people in tech. With the half-life of some technical skills now less than 2.5 years, and women 40% more likely to have their work replaced by AI automation, technology leaders that do not make upskilling initiatives a strategic priority may find they lock even more women out of the sector.

Where training budgets do exist, employees are not empowered to use them strategically. Efforts are often generic, lack structure and do not relate to KPIs.

Employees may not be allocated the time or headspace for intensive learning, and therefore prioritise other tasks above their own professional development.

What that looks like is changing. According to the Tech Talent Charter, nearly twice as many tech workers now obtain their skills through non-traditional tech skills programmes. That’s particularly true for women who are more likely than men to be learning on the job (28% vs 18%).

As well as highlighting the need for organisations to invest in skills mapping, the report states that organisations must reshape recruitment and establish ethical guidelines and policies for AI in order for staff to develop in line with the environment around them. To help achieve this, report provides 10 recommendations:

Prioritise skills mapping