IBM Launches AI Skills Training Business For Workforce

As artificial intelligence (AI) promises to transform both the future of work and the human resources (HR) function, IBM has launched IBM Talent & Transformation. The new business aims to not only provide AI skills training but also help companies drive the transformation necessary to use AI to empower employees, transform workflows, eliminate bias and build a modern workforce.

While CEOs and employees agree that AI will transform the workplace, recent IBM studies reveal that few feel prepared to take advantage of AI’s potential. In the next three years, as many as 120 million workers in the world’s 10 largest economies may need to be retrained or reskilled as a result of AI and intelligent automation.

IBM study also found that two-thirds of CEOs say AI will drive significant value in HR, yet only 11 percent of Chief Human Resource Officers report their organizations have the AI, data science and machine learning skills needed to fulfill that potential.

“As organizations grapple with the dual demands of undertaking digital transformation and reinventing their businesses through the application of new technologies, the biggest barrier will lie in accessing the right talent. IBM believes building a workforce to compete in the AI era is as much about culture and specialized expertise as it is about technology,” commented Mark Foster, senior vice president, IBM Global Business Services.

IBM’s training initiatives take learnings from methods that IBM has applied to drive its own workforce transformation. These services harness the power of AI personalization to guide employees in developing skills and pursuing opportunities to grow within the company.

They also allow HR teams to measure flight risk for proactive retention and use bias reduction capabilities to flag bias in recruitment efforts, such as language in job descriptions. As per the company, when applied to IBM’s own HR function, these services drove more than USD 300 million in benefits to the company, USD 107 million in benefits in 2017 alone, and resulted in significantly better candidate, employee and manager satisfaction.

IBM has already partnered with companies to complete more than 1,000 HR transformation projects globally.

Learning While Doing
IBM has supported this with the launch of IBM AI Skills Academy. The service helps businesses plan, build and apply AI initiatives across the enterprise like evaluating AI roles and skills, building necessary skills, and creating an organizational structure in support of AI strategy.

To source the right talent and help current employees advance their careers, IBM Talent & Transformation works with companies like Citizens Financial Group Inc and Ernst & Young LLP to apply IBM Watson Talent solutions.

IBM is also introducing IBM Garage, designed to develop agile capabilities and change the way work is done. Inside the Garage, which serves as a physical instantiation of digital and AI-enabled transformation across an enterprise, IBM experts work with client employees to develop new ideas, then rapidly test, discard or advance those ideas.

The IBM Garage is a tool for executing, scaling and managing an organization’s multiple transformation initiatives with strategic purpose amid ongoing market disruption. Companies including Ford Motor Company and Travelport are already working in IBM Garages around the world to create cultures of open collaboration and continuous learning.

Add Comment