AI upskilling among leaders comes as reports show business benefits from the technology
More business leaders in Australia are gaining skills in artificial intelligence as they place AI adoption among their priorities this year, according to a new report.
LinkedIn data found that 4.7 times more C-suite executives in Australia are adding AI literacy skills, such as prompt engineering and generative AI tools, to their profiles compared to two years ago.
They are also 1.3 times more likely to add AI literacy skills than the rest of the workforce, according to the report.
C-suite executives' growing adoption of AI skills comes as 83% of them said helping their organisation speed up AI implementation is a priority this year.
They also ranked AI skills as the number one skillset that executives need to steer their business through change.
"AI transformation starts at the top. Today's leaders must go beyond talking about AI – they need to model its use, demonstrate how to use it effectively and make learning a priority," said Adam Gregory, Senior Director, ANZ, LinkedIn Talent and Learning Solutions, in a statement.
"At LinkedIn, we're seeing that the most effective C-suites are those who are building AI literacy across their teams and embedding AI into everyday workflows. As we move from experimentation to impact, organisations that lead from the front will be the ones that unlock new levels of efficiency, creativity, and innovation."
The growing demand for AI skills among Australian leadership also stems from reports that AI integration delivers revenue increases.
LinkedIn data revealed that 51% of companies globally said adopting AI has delivered revenue hikes by up to 10%.
In Australia, a separate report from PwC revealed that businesses in AI-exposed industries are seeing three times higher average growth in revenue per employee, compared to less exposed industries.
According to the PwC report, generative AI has "supercharged productivity growth" in these exposed industries, expanding from nine per cent in 2018-2022 to 27% between 2018 and 2024.
Jobs growth also accelerated in nearly all AI-exposed occupations, despite previous reports that the technology will drive job losses.
It found that jobs where AI can independently perform some tasks went up 45% over the past five years, while occupations where AI enhances human productivity expanded 47% across all industries.
"While automation might suggest job displacement, what we're seeing instead is job transformation – roles evolve as AI takes over routine tasks, allowing people to focus on higher-value work. As a result, even automatable roles are still expanding, not shrinking," said Tom Pagram, PwC Australia's Artificial Intelligence and Global AI Factory Leader, in a statement.
He warned, however, that this growth will only continue if workers are actively upskilled and deployed to higher-value positions.
"Without an active focus on workforce upskilling, we risk a growing divide between those whose skills are enhanced by AI and those whose jobs are hollowed out by it. The gains we're seeing today - more jobs, rising demand for AI capability - could easily stall or even reverse if we don't bring people along."
