CompTIA plans AI certification roadmap to meet skills demand

IT certification and training group CompTIA announced this week that it will expand its product and program roadmap to meet the growing demand for AI-related skill sets.

CompTIA monitors the demand for skills across technology domains and has found that AI job roles are becoming more focused. In response, CompTIA will accelerate the development of AI-related products and programs to help both employers and professionals get the skills they need.

“Our certification product development process is driven in large part by what labor market data tells us. Which job roles are experiencing growth? Which job titles are appearing more frequently in help wanted ads? Are employers looking for new skill sets?” says Teresa Sears, vice president of product management at CompTIA.

Not only is AI becoming critical to existing job functions, but CompTIA notes that new roles are also starting to land on employers’ radar. “Two entirely new job roles—prompt engineering and AI systems architects—are emerging. These positions align with the AI priorities of many organizations,” Sears explains.

Among U.S. employers, hiring activity for AI skills and job roles amounted to nearly 200,000 job postings over the past 12 months. The employment opportunities for AI-specific roles or jobs requiring AI skills surpassed a “notable threshold, accounting for 10% or more of all tech job postings in the U.S.,” CompTIA reports. The group identified growing demand in four existing job clusters: software development, cybersecurity, systems operations, and data analytics. These job clusters align with priorities that business and technology professionals pointed out in a February CompTIA survey. Using AI to improve data analytics; understanding potential cybersecurity vulnerabilities of AI systems; and integrating and automating business systems to leverage AI are among their top priorities, according to CompTIA.

Business and technology professionals are applying AI across technology domains in a variety of ways, CompTIA found in its recent survey:

• Using AI to improve data analytics: cited by 44%
• Managing data properly to be used as AI input: 38%
• Understanding potential cybersecurity vulnerabilities of AI systems: 37%
• Using AI tools to speed up/improve software development: 36%
• Evaluating AI output to validate and implement: 36%
• Using AI to improve cybersecurity capabilities: 34%
• Integrating/automating business systems to leverage AI: 33%
• Understanding which prompts to use to maximize AI production: 33%
• Planning IT architecture to support IT initiatives: 32%
• Directly building AI algorithms: 26%
  

“Some new job roles are emerging with AI, but millions of existing professionals will need to upskill and acquire new AI competencies to be able to meet the needs of the job market,” said Thomas Reilly, CompTIA’s chief product officer, in a statement. “We intend to create a range of certifications and training offerings spanning the complete career arc, from foundational knowledge for pre-career and early career learners to advanced skills for professionals with years of workforce experience.”

CompTIA will continue to monitor the market and keep track of how companies are using AI and the skills their teams need to use the technology most effectively. “We’re also interested in collaborating directly with organizations that are interested in developing AI talent,” Sears says.