Dive Brief:
- Demand for training in AI-related skills soared last year, according to a report published Tuesday by online learning and training company O'Reilly. The company analyzed usage data on its platform for its Technology Trends for 2025 report.
- Year-over-year demand for courses on prompt engineering skyrocketed, up 456%. Generative AI training demand rose 289%, while the number of professionals looking to boost knowledge of AI principles more than quadrupled last year.
- Data engineering, an integral practice to generative AI, grew 29% year over year, according to the report.
Dive Insight:
Businesses have struggled to fill AI-focused positions for years, a trend driven by a mismatch between open roles and available, specialized talent.
Generative AI adoption efforts compounded the issue, pushing workers to seek upskilling in the necessary tools and processes that power the technology.
Demand for AI and machine learning engineering roles also experienced seismic growth over the past decade. A SignalFire analysis showed these specialized roles grew 27x since 2014.
Upskilling can support companies in their adoption goals, according to Mike Loukides, VP of content strategy at O'Reilly. A focus on skills-based hiring, rather than certificates or college degrees, is also helping allay talent constraints.
The underlying data science techniques that support generative AI deployment remain a work in progress for most organizations, according to Loukides.
"Since we started talking about data science, I don't think companies are as far along with that as they would like to think they are," Loukides said.
