AI Talent Crisis: Why Are Companies Still Struggling to Hire?

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Everyone's asking how AI will reshape work. Fewer people are asking why hiring is still this hard, despite all the powerful tools now on the market. Talent remains one of the biggest challenges organisations face today. ManpowerGroup's latest Talent Shortage Survey puts a number on it: 72% of employers worldwide report difficulty finding candidates with the skills they need.

Technology is evolving fast. The talent pool able to work with it isn't keeping pace.

What Kind of Talent Are Organisations Looking For?

Organisations are placing more weight on AI-related skills, particularly people who can build, apply, and work alongside AI systems day to day.

ManpowerGroup's 2026 Talent Shortage Survey polled more than 39,000 employers across 41 countries, and for the first time, AI-related skills came out as the hardest-to-find capabilities in the global workforce.

The toughest skill set to hire for is AI Model & Application Development at 20%, with AI Literacy close behind at 19%, both ahead of traditional high-demand fields like Engineering, Sales & Marketing, and Manufacturing. What surprised me is that IT & Data, usually near the top of these lists, dropped to seventh place.

Higher Salaries Haven't Solved the Problem

When organisations can't find the talent they need, the cost goes well beyond a longer hiring process. It delays innovation, slows growth, and creates real economic damage. IDC estimates the global AI skills gap could cost the world economy up to $5.5 trillion this year alone, driven largely by AI projects running nearly 10 months behind schedule.

So why don't companies simply pay more?

Many already do. PwC's analysis of close to a billion job postings found that roles requiring AI skills command a 56% salary premium over traditional software engineering positions on average, and that premium keeps growing year after year.

The problem is that compensation can't manufacture qualified talent out of thin air. Raising salaries mostly intensifies competition for the same limited pool of professionals. It does very little to grow the actual supply of experience and expertise organisations need.

Why the AI Skills Gap Is So Difficult to Close

Part of what makes this hard is that experienced AI professionals take years to develop. The skills organisations need are built through solving real problems, working with production systems, and navigating complex business environments, not through a single course or certification.

DataCamp reports that 82% of organisations already have AI training programmes in place, yet 59% still report significant AI skills gaps. That tells me there's a real gap between people who've completed training and people who are genuinely ready to deliver impact in a live business setting.

At its core, this shortage has less to do with headcount and more to do with capability. Employer needs are evolving faster than education systems and labour markets can keep up with.

AI Talent Demand Is Not a Short-Term Trend

I don't expect demand for AI professionals to slow down. As organisations deploy more AI systems, they need more people to build, govern, maintain, and improve them. This is a structural shift tied to where business is heading, not a temporary spike that eases once more people graduate from bootcamps.

At the same time, experienced AI professionals know exactly what they're worth. Frequent job changes, higher salary expectations, and a strong preference for employers that offer real learning opportunities and career growth have become common behaviours among top AI talent.

For most employers, the real question is less about where to find talent and more about what talent strategy actually fits the business. Some organisations build internal capabilities, others bring in external specialists, and many do a mix of both. The right model depends on business priorities, available resources, and how mature the organisation's AI initiatives already are.

As AI adoption keeps accelerating, having access to the right skills and expertise stays a core consideration for any organisation trying to get real value from its AI investments.

As data and AI become more central to business success, having the right expertise on your side matters more than ever.

This is exactly where Sertis Professional Services comes in. We help organisations accelerate AI transformation by providing the specialist capabilities needed to launch strategic initiatives, strengthen delivery teams, and build long-term AI capabilities with confidence.

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