Generative AI had a rapid impact on the skills landscape over the course of 2023, and its influence is set to grow into 2024.

Against this backdrop, new data from Coursera’s Job Skills of 2024 Report, find that interest in AI skills has skyrocketed, with searchers from enterprise learners for teams such as ‘AI’, ‘ChatGPT’ and ‘generative AI’ increasing 271% year on year.

This matches recent reports showing that IT leaders are worried we are sleepwalking into an AI skills crisis, with nearly three quarters (72%) of leaders thinking the AI skills gap needs to be addressed with a matter of urgency.

The report, which identifies the fastest growing skills, based on insights from five million leaders  affiliated with 3,000 businesses, 3,600 higher education institutions, and governments in over 100 countries, also highlights a 157% year on year increase in enrolments in generative AI courses on the Coursera platform.

Within this rapidly growing field, reinforcement learning (which enables learners to build machine learning models) is the fastest-growing AI skill, both overall and across all verticals – with particularly fast growth among government-affiliated learners.

Amid an estimated shortfall of more than 3.4 million cybersecurity workers, the report also finds that cybersecurity skills make up half of the ten fastest-growing skills in the tech domain.

While three out of these ten are developer skills, with demand reflected across verticals, the 2024 report found that seven out of ten of the fastest-growing skills overall are business skills.

As technology and consumer behaviour continues to evolve, digital marketing skills make up half of the top ten fastest-growing business skills, with e-commerce, media strategy and planning, and search engine optimisation the top three overall.

Audit ranked the ninth fastest-growing skill overall and the sixth top business skill- showcasing a growing focus on applying regulatory frameworks, protecting data, and deploying new technologies such as AI safely.

As emerging technologies like AI shift the demands of the workplace and businesses continue to face macroeconomic disruptions, Coursera finds growing demand for leadership skills that enable institutions to navigate change.

These include people management, negotiation, influencing, and employee relations which all sit at the top five fastest growing leadership skills.

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Nikolaz Foucaud, managing director, for Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) Enterprise, at Coursera, commented: “The meteoric rise of AI is only set to continue in 2024—with demand for related skills accelerating alongside it. Businesses and institutions looking to capitalise on the promise of greater productivity and increased competitiveness will be seeking AI specialists with a range of skills.

“Yet rapid technological change can also lead to new risks. Cybersecurity has also seen significant growth this year, alongside audit skills—both of which are vital to keeping data protected, secure, and compliant. Meanwhile, demand for leadership skills has become more prominent, as institutions seek people capable of steering teams and businesses through these times of change and innovation.

“Together, these changing contexts only cement the need for institutions to identify and invest in the right skills for their learners and employees; those that both empower career success and fuel the sustainable growth of businesses and governments in 2024 and beyond.”