askST Jobs: What AI skills are in demand, besides coding?

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Q: What are the most sought-after skills in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector?

A: The potential benefits of AI to firms and individuals make skills related to it highly sought after, says Mr Amos Tan, chief core skills officer at training provider NTUC LearningHub.

“AI is driving innovation in finance, healthcare, manufacturing and logistics, creating high demand for skilled professionals, and significantly reduces time and costs associated with repetitive tasks, enhancing productivity across various sectors,” adds Mr Tan.

This means that the demand for AI and AI-related skills is not isolated to jobs in the tech sector, or roles involving developing AI software.

Instead, AI skills are increasingly sought after in multiple industries, Mr Tan says.

For instance, in finance, AI enhances algorithmic trading, fraud detection, credit scoring, and personalised banking services.

Meanwhile, in the retail sector, it enables personalised marketing, customer service chatbots and sales forecasting, Mr Tan says.

AI skills are also increasingly desired within Singapore’s creative and marketing industries.

“Marketing professionals use AI to harness data for targeted campaigns, personalise customer experiences and optimise creative content.

“AI-driven analytics predict consumer behaviour, while AI tools generate insights for strategic decision-making,” says Mr Tan.

He adds that beyond the technical skills required to develop AI software, NTUC LearningHub is seeing growing industry demand for AI-related skills in data analysis and interpretation, as well as AI ethics and governance.

Skills related to AI integration and deployment, AI product management and AI project management are also much in demand.

Soft skills matter too, says Mr Tan, given the need for interdisciplinary collaboration within organisations to ensure AI solutions are successfully woven into job tasks. This takes effective communication, problem-solving, design thinking and critical thinking skills.

To address the growing demand for AI skills, Mr Tan says NTUC LearningHub, which is the continuous education and training arm of the National Trades Union Congress, is putting in place comprehensive training programmes and industry partnerships.

Courses range from workshops for general awareness to deep technical training programmes in areas like AI development.

Mr Tan says the training provider collaborates with leading tech companies to ensure that the training meets industry standards, and that acquired skills are recognised worldwide.

Separately, hiring platform Indeed says the skills most in demand for generative AI jobs in Singapore pertain to machine learning and programming language Python.

The firm found that over 60 per cent of generative AI job openings in Singapore listed on its platform mention “machine learning”, while over half ask for Python skills.

“Python is highly valued for its flexibility in AI and machine learning,” Indeed said in a statement earlier in July.

The ability to use development software PyTorch and knowledge of programming language C++ are also sought after, appearing in over 20 per cent of job ads.

Other skills Indeed found to be in demand include deep learning, as well as programming languages such as Java, C, SQL and Spark.

Mr Callam Pickering, senior economist at Indeed Asia-Pacific, says of the firm’s findings: “As AI becomes crucial across industries, there’s a growing need for these skills. This data helps recruiters target specific skills and helps job seekers stay competitive.”

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