6 in 10 IT Workers Report Shortage of AI Skills in the Public Sector

In a recent Salesforce survey, a striking 60% of public sector IT professionals identified a shortage of artificial intelligence (AI) skills as their top challenge to implementing AI.

Why it matters: AI could save hundreds of millions of government staff hours and billions of dollars annually, according to Deloitte. The benefits of AI are only possible if the public sector workforce has the skills to harness the technology. Government agencies are already being directed to implement guidelines and build teams to support the use of AI. This includes expanding and upskilling their AI talent and designating a new Chief AI Officer, which every federal agency was recently ordered to hire.

Salesforce perspective: “Training and skills development are critical first steps for the public sector to leverage the benefits of AI. By investing in new skills like prompt development, public sector leaders can empower their workforce to use AI to increase productivity, build deeper relationships with constituents, and improve the quality of public services.” – Casey Coleman, SVP, Global Government Solutions

By investing in new skills like prompt development, public sector leaders can empower their workforce to use AI to increase productivity, build deeper relationships with constituents, and improve the quality of public services.

Casey Coleman, SVP, Global Government Solutions

The Salesforce research found:

Public sector faces a deeper AI skills gap than other industries

IT professionals in the public sector are about a third more likely to say there’s an AI skills gap in their organization, compared to the industry* average.

Public sector IT professionals struggle with implementing AI in their organization

• Only 28% of public sector IT professionals say they’re experts in using generative AI as part of their job.
• Just 32% say they’re experts in understanding generative AI use cases, such as content creation and data analytics. 
• Only 30% say they’re experts in implementing AI in their organization.

AI brings opportunity for efficiency gains in the public sector

By bridging the AI skills gap, organizations can‌ create new efficiencies in the public sector. Salesforce’s survey shows that the public sector’s ​​main goal with AI is to automate routine tasks.

Read more

• Watch World Tour D.C. on Salesforce+ to learn about Salesforce’s CRM + AI + Data + Trust solutions for the public sector
• Learn more about the disconnect between executives’ expectations around AI implementation and IT’s ability to meet their demands
• Get more insights on the generative AI skills gap from Salesforce’s Generative AI Snapshot Research Series 

*Methodology: In partnership with Vanson Bourne, Salesforce conducted a double-anonymous survey of 600 IT professionals (200 IT leaders and 400 IT individual contributors) in Australia, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Respondents work across industries, including technology, financial services, media and entertainment, manufacturing, retail, healthcare, the public sector, and more. The survey was fielded in December 2023 and January 2024.