A global report from Randstad has found far from replacing tech talent, AI is reshaping demand and driving 86 per cent of organisations to grow their tech headcount. Randstad’s report, tech talent in transition: building the AI-ready workforce says that to bridge critical skill gaps, organisations are buying, building and borrowing the talent they need to stay ahead.
Demand for AI skills has expanded rapidly with postings requiring AI capabilities growing more than fivefold over the past year. Non-tech companies are aggressively outbidding traditional tech firms to secure talent, banking pays software engineers a median 13 per cent premium, while healthcare and life sciences pay 17 per cent more. As a result, hiring is surging, with 55 per cent of non-tech organisations recruiting talent following tech sector layoffs.
As AI automates routine execution, the bottleneck has shifted to people who orchestrate and oversee it. 61 per cent of employers report that finding talent with human capabilities like critical thinking and communication is harder than sourcing technical skills alone. Risk governance is a major pressure point, with demand doubling (+108 per cent) while talent supply grew by only 69 per cent.
Addressing these expanding skill needs also requires a focus on equity; women currently account for just 31 per cent of professionals with emerging AI skills, compared with 36 per cent of those with established tech skills. This was getting smaller, with Gen Z women accounting for 37 per cent of those with established tech skills but now only 32 per cent of those with emerging AI skills, making closing the AI gender gap a critical priority for sustainable growth.
To close AI skills gaps, 63 per cent of organisations name flexible talent – contingent, freelance, contract and fractional models – as their first-choice approach. To support this agility, 92 per cent of organizations use digital talent marketplaces, online platforms that connect employers directly with skilled talent, for recruitment, with 42 per cent relying on them as their primary channel. Additionally, nearshore regional hubs stand out as the top delivery model for the next two years (35 per cent).
“Far from replacing tech talent, AI is fundamentally redefining it,” says Sander van ‘t Noordende, Randstad CEO. “Employers need people who can put AI to work from day one and, increasingly, talent with the judgment, communication and governance skills to make sure it delivers. This combination is now the hardest aspect to hire for.
“No single hiring model will close that gap. The organisations that pull ahead will execute a holistic strategy: they will buy the right foundational talent, borrow specialist skills with the flexibility to bring them in exactly when needed, and invest seriously in building their own people. And they can’t afford to leave half the talent pool behind. Closing the gender gap in AI skills has to be a deliberate priority if we’re to secure sustainable growth.”
