Citi GPS: Evolving Demand for Skills Places Premium on Collaborative Leadership and Continuous Learning in Data Science

Citi GPS: Evolving Demand for Skills Places Premium on Collaborative Leadership and Continuous Learning in Data Science

LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Citi has launched its latest Global Perspectives & Solutions (Citi GPS) report titled: ‘SKILLS THAT PAY – The Returns from Specific Skills as Demanded in Job Adverts.’ The report is the result of a collaboration between Citi, the London School of Economics, and the Oxford Martin School. Leveraging data from job advertisements, the authors examine the skills that are rising and falling in demand and explore how wages for these skills are changing.

“In the face of rapidly changing labor markets due to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, understanding the demand and reward for skills is crucial for firms,” says Dr Grace Lordan, Director of The Inclusion Initiative at LSE. “Hiring has evolved from very specific education and experience criteria towards detailed skills requirements. Notably soft skills – including inclusive leadership – are rising in demand-with more novel ways being utilised to assess whether a candidate possesses these skills during hiring.”

Overall, we found that collaborative leadership increased in importance over time in terms of demand and hourly wages. Earlier research shows occupations that require such skills are less likely to be automated. Collaborative leadership also fosters individual and company performance both directly and indirectly through fostering inclusion.

Our findings also demonstrate that data science is constantly evolving, causing certain data science skills to attract a wage premium in one period, then lose it in the next. “Technology is constantly evolving and hence demanding an evolving skill set,” says Helen Krause, Managing Director and Head of Data Science at Citi Global Insights. “This underlines the importance of continuous learning and upskilling for professional data scientists.”

We further find a complementarity between soft skills and cognitive skills; concretely between collaborative leadership and research skills. This finding is in line with past research that focused on the interaction of social skills and cognitive skills and the fact that non-linear thinking becomes key for the future of work. Professionals require soft skills but also need to understand the implications of numerical calculations.

The report also looks at the demand and supply of AI skills by breaking AI job data into two groups: Tech-AI jobs, relating to technological skills necessary to “run, train and test” AI models and Broad-AI jobs, requiring an understanding of AI technologies but not the “hard” tech-skills found in Tech-AI jobs. Since 2015, we observe a fivefold increase in the demand for these groups as a percent of all U.S. jobs. Globally, the number of AI jobs advertised grew ninefold for Tech-AI jobs and over elevenfold for Broad-AI ones, while IT sector jobs nearly quadrupled, and the number of total jobs advertised nearly tripled.

The supply of these hard-to-find professionals is skewed across the U.S., with California hosting almost a third of the country’s total. “With some states having more than 10 job ads per AI professional, wage implications are also important, making the quest for talent a global endeavor that builds on remote and hybrid arrangements,” says Pantelis Koutroumpis, Director of the Programme on Technological and Economic Change at the Oxford Martin School.

Our findings shed light on the skills that are valuable in today’s labor market. This information is useful in terms of hiring, planning, training, and upskilling workers for daily tasks, but importantly, it can also help firms attract and retain talent. Furthermore, our work provides information to firms on the volatility of prices for specific skills.

Finally, our work also provides a new lens through which investors can view firms. Investors can analyze the skills being demanded by a company they are contemplating investing in and determine if this company is seeking the skills that are most relevant in today’s economy for a specific occupation as a pulse point for their innovation and future readiness.

The digital copy of the report is available here

About Citi Global Perspectives & Solutions (Citi GPS)

As our premier thought-leadership product, Citi Global Perspectives & Solutions (Citi GPS) is designed to help readers navigate the most demanding challenges and greatest opportunities of the 21st century. We access the best elements of our global conversation with senior Citi senior professionals, academics, and corporate leaders to anticipate themes and trends in today’s fast-changing and interconnected world.

About Citi

Citi is a preeminent banking partner for institutions with cross-border needs, a global leader in wealth management and a valued personal bank in its home market of the United States. Citi does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions, providing corporations, governments, investors, institutions and individuals with a broad range of financial products and services.

www.citigroup.com | Twitter: @Citi | www.youtube.com/citi | http://blog.citigroup.com | www.facebook.com/citi | www.linkedin.com/company/citi

About The Inclusion Initiative at the London School of Economics and Political Science

The Inclusion Initiative (TII) at The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) launched in November 2020. TII leverages behavioural science insights to advance our understanding of the factors that enhance inclusion at work. Our first area of focus is the financial and professional services. Over the next three years we aim to build an open source research repository that houses rigorous and relevant research related to inclusion at work, in the financial and professional services and beyond. The TII brings industry, academics and other stakeholders together regularly to exchange ideas, highlight new findings and build partnerships.

www.lse.ac.uk/tii

About The Oxford Martin School

The Oxford Martin School is a world-leading research department of the University of Oxford. Its 200 academics work across more than 30 pioneering research programmes to find solutions to the world’s most urgent challenges. It supports novel and high-risk projects that often do not fit within conventional funding channels, with the belief that breaking boundaries and fostering innovative collaborations can dramatically improve the wellbeing of this and future generations. Underpinning all our research is the need to translate academic excellence into impact – from innovations in science, medicine and technology, through to providing expert advice and policy recommendations.

www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk | Twitter: @oxmartinschool | Facebook: /oxfordmartinschool | https://www.linkedin.com/company/oxford-martin-school

Media:

Citi, Citi GPS: Francesco Meucci ([email protected])

Oxford Martin School: Amjad Parkar ([email protected])

LSE The Inclusion Initiative: Joanna Bale ([email protected])

KEYWORDS: United Kingdom Europe

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Banking Education Technology Professional Services Other Technology Research Data Analytics Science Human Resources Other Education Finance

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