Technology

Posted on June 13, 2018 by staff

One university is responsible for 7.6 per cent of AI hires

Technology

The Imperial College London is the nation’s most active creator of jobs in artificial intelligence, according to new figures.

One in every 13 AI vacancies Iisted over the last 12 months on job listing site Indeed was at the college, with other leading academic institutions also recruiting heavily in the field.

Four out of the country’s top six recruiters of AI professionals are universities, with Oxford, Cambridge and University College London all competing hard for AI talent.

British AI vacancies have tripled in the past three years, in part driven by tech companies, including Amazon with 4.9 per cent of the jobs posted and IBM, which accounts for 2.5 per cent.

“It’s striking how many AI jobs are being created by universities,” said Shawn Bose, General Manager at Indeed Prime.

“With AI technology still in its infancy, academic researchers are racing to discover its full potential.

“Just as the genesis of Silicon Valley came when the worlds of scientific research and business collided at California’s Stanford University, we could be seeing a similar pattern beginning to emerge with AI in the UK.”

“The combination of high salaries and the chance to develop transformative technology continues to attract some of the brightest and best professionals to careers in AI.

“While automation will inevitably change the world of work beyond recognition, for now the AI technology behind it is creating thousands of job opportunities for highly skilled, and therefore well paid, individuals.”

The typical roles listed include Machine Learning Engineers and Software Developers and, as is common in the AI sector.

Indeed’s data shows that AI skills are more in demand in the UK than in any other developed economy, with the appetite among British employers even outstripping that of their US counterparts.

Jobseekers are responding in kind, with levels of candidate interest in AI-based jobs doubling since the start of 2015.