The AI Skills You'll Need for 2025: IBM SkillsBuild Education Forecast

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IBM has released its education forecast for 2025, highlighting three key predictions for AI skills development. According to a recent IBM report, 87% of executives expect jobs to be augmented rather than replaced by generative AI, while 47% indicate their workforce lacks AI implementation skills.

The forecast outlines three main predictions: First, AI ethics skills will become important as education shifts from traditional AI tools to AI agents. Second, lifelong learning will become essential as employees transition to managing AI agents and adapt to emerging technologies. Third, AI integration into education platforms will increase, offering personalized learning pathways and enhanced educational experiences.

Through IBM SkillsBuild, the company offers free courses in AI ethics, artificial intelligence basics, and prompt writing. IBM has committed to training 2 million learners in AI by 2026.

Positive

• Commitment to train 2 million learners in AI by 2026
• 87% of executives expect AI to augment rather than replace jobs
• Successful implementation of AI in IBM SkillsBuild platform, analyzing feedback from 60,000+ learners in 47 languages

Negative

• 47% of executives report their workforce lacks AI implementation skills

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / January 6, 2025 / IBM

By Justina Nixon-Saintil, VP and Chief Impact Officer, IBM Corporate Social Responsibility

2024 was a remarkable year for the growth of AI and its impact on everything from work to education and even our personal lives. In my role leading IBM's social impact programs around the world, I have the opportunity to speak with education leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs and policymakers. In these conversations, I continue to hear that AI is transforming industries across communities.

Most recently, I spoke with leaders across art, beauty, culture, fashion and media to learn how AI is already transforming their industries. My team at IBM has been very focused on how we use AI to support our communities effectively. At the same time, we are also committed to upskilling and reskilling learners, wherever they are on their AI journey. But how are professionals across other fields approaching this new technology? There's an exciting groundswell of creators exploring how they can use AI, from testing new applications for their work to automating the administrative tasks that impede their creative process. I've included some of their insights for you to reflect upon. It's clear that the human element remains core to their work. At the same time, their stories provide a glimpse into how AI is beginning to free up their time, helping them focus on what they do best.

This trend is common across industries. A new report from IBM reveals that 87% of executives expect jobs to be augmented rather than replaced by generative AI. As for the human element, the challenge today is that about half (47%) of executives say their people lack the knowledge and skills to effectively implement and scale AI across the enterprise. The answer is that we need to invest in education and upskilling to fully reap the benefits of AI. People are crucial to this effort.

With that in mind, here are IBM's three predictions for education in 2025, and the skills we need to build now to prepare.

1. AI ethics skills will be key

In education, we expect the start of a shift from traditional AI tools to AI agents. At the same time, the mainstream use of AI technology with ChatGPT and OpenAI has increased the potential risk of shadow AI. These two phenomena highlight the importance of accountability, data and IT policies, along with the control of autonomous systems. This is particularly crucial for education providers, because we think there will be greater attention paid to the AI guardrails and processes. To be prepared, educators, students and decision makers at all levels need to be upskilled in AI, with a focus on AI ethics and data management.

During our recent conversation, Miles Hicks, Brand Marketing and Storytelling for the Brooklyn Museum said, "We want to find ways to apply AI with integrity, so we can feel good about the work that is being produced. Critical thinking is key. We live in a world with information overload and learning how to become discerning is one of the most important lessons as a professional."

I totally agree, and IBM SkillsBuild offers a course at no cost to help you build these skills: help you build these skills:

(1 hour 45 minutes): In this course, you'll explore the five pillars of AI ethics-fairness, robustness, explainability, transparency and privacy-through real-world examples, learning their importance in creating trustworthy AI systems.

2. Lifelong learning will be the new normal

This may not be a radical prediction, but I think it's a crucial and often-overlooked component of how we must approach education and upskilling. The marketplace is going to change quickly over the coming years, and the demand for individuals prepared to take on future jobs will increase. Employees who have been trained as individual contributors may soon become managers of AI agents, which would require new AI skills. The growth of AI agents, the future use of quantum computing and the increase in cyberthreats will make this transformation pervasive. Upskilling won't end with AI. The immediate need is for AI skills, but there will soon be a growing demand for quantum skills, alongside an enduring demand for cybersecurity skills. Lifelong learning is essential for people who want to remain competitive in the job market.

Katini Yamaoka, Founder and CEO of Katina Skin, highlighted the need for AI skills in her beauty company: "Once you start a business, you need to build your customer base and you really need to dive deep to figure out who they are, what are their concerns, and what are they looking for. AI has been incredible for uncovering that."

No matter where you are in your career journey-whether you want to start a business or augment your work-you need AI today. I recently spoke with Jamauri Bynum-Bridgewater, a newly graduated student who credits his role at a Fortune 500 company to the AI digital credentials he earned through IBM SkillsBuild. Examples such as these are why IBM is committed to training 2 million learners in AI by 2026. A couple of our most popular courses are a great place to begin:

Introduction to artificial intelligence (1 hour 15 minutes): In under a century, AI has transformed data analysis and autonomous learning. This course covers its history and role in unlocking insights from unstructured data.

Mastering the art of prompt writing (1 hour): This hands-on course teaches how to write effective prompts for AI language models, such as creating prompts for travel itineraries and custom music playlists.

3. AI will be infused into education platforms

AI and automation are poised to become a competitive advantage for education platforms and systems. I think we're going to start seeing an increased use of AI across learning platforms, offering simplified explanations of topics and personalized learning pathways. We're already putting AI to work to enhance IBM SkillsBuild for our learners. For example, we've used AI to analyze feedback from more than 60,000 learners in 47 languages, which has helped us simplify processes such as online-learning registration. There are so many applications for AI in the education system, and we can really make a difference if we share our knowledge as we apply the technology to each new area.

Breanna Young, Senior Product Designer at Hearst said, "It's up to us to share knowledge with one another across our communities as we explore uses of AI."

I agree that this is a vital edict, and I will continue to share my knowledge as we further integrate AI into the IBM SkillsBuild online platform. If you'd like to learn more about how AI can enhance education offerings, I'd recommend this course:

Artificial intelligence in practice (40 minutes): From communicating with chatbots to piloting self-driving cars and addressing complex global problems, AI is solving problems everywhere.

Start learning today

We need to invest in our own skills to make the most of what AI has to offer. As Katini noted in our conversation, "AI is here to enhance our lives, but we still have to do the groundwork and build the foundation."

There's no better time to start than now. Miles summed it up nicely: "Be a student. Be open to lifelong learning. We shouldn't be too afraid or too prideful to take a one-hour course."

With that in mind, the courses I've suggested are each two hours or less in duration and are designed for individuals at all experience levels. Explore these courses to help build the skills needed to succeed in an AI-driven world.

Explore IBM SkillsBuild to learn more about the additional AI courses we offer

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SOURCE: IBM

View the original press release on accesswire.com

FAQ

What are IBM's key predictions for AI education in 2025?

IBM predicts three key developments: 1) AI ethics skills will become crucial, 2) lifelong learning will become the new normal, and 3) AI will be increasingly integrated into education platforms.

How many learners does IBM plan to train in AI by 2026?

IBM has committed to training 2 million learners in AI by 2026 through their SkillsBuild platform.

What percentage of executives in IBM's report expect AI to augment jobs?

According to IBM's report, 87% of executives expect jobs to be augmented rather than replaced by generative AI.

What are the main AI courses offered through IBM SkillsBuild?

IBM SkillsBuild offers several key courses including AI ethics (1h 45m), Introduction to artificial intelligence (1h 15m), Mastering the art of prompt writing (1h), and Artificial intelligence in practice (40m).

What percentage of executives say their workforce lacks AI implementation skills?

According to IBM's report, 47% of executives say their people lack the knowledge and skills to effectively implement and scale AI across the enterprise.