Six In 10 IT Professionals Report Shortage Of AI Skills In Public Sector: Salesforce Survey
AI has the potential to save both government staff hours and costs, but its benefits are only possible if the public sector workforce has the skills to harness the technology.
Six out of 10 public sector IT professionals citied a lack of artificial intelligence skills as their biggest obstacle to implementing AI, according to Salesforce survey. Public sector faces a greater AI skills gap than other industries, the survey showed.
AI has the potential to save both government staff hours and costs, but its benefits are only possible if the public sector workforce has the skills to harness the technology. Public sector IT professionals struggle with implementing AI in their organisation, the survey found.
IT professionals in the public sector are about a third more likely to say there’s an AI skills gap in their organisation, compared to the industry average. Apart from lack of AI skills, the other challenges in implementing and using AI cited by public sector IT professionals include data quality issues (38%), data security issues (36%), teams struggling to keep up with demand (36%) and ethical concerns (32%).
Public sector IT workers are finding it difficult to implement AI in their organisation, the survey showed. Of these professionals, only 30% said they’re experts in implementing AI in their organisation, and 28% said they’re experts in using generative AI as part of their job. Just 32% said they’re experts in understanding generative AI use cases, such as content creation and data analytics.
By bridging the AI skills gap, organisations can create new efficiencies in the public sector. The survey showed that the public sector’s main goal with AI is to automate routine tasks. The other benefits realised or expected to be realised were reduced risk and improved customer experience.
“Training and skills development are critical first steps for the public sector to leverage the benefits of AI. By investing in new skills like prompt development, public sector leaders can empower their workforce to use AI to increase productivity, build deeper relationships with constituents, and improve the quality of public services,” said Casey Coleman, senior vice president, global government solutions, Salesforce.
