First Deputy Chairman of the Board of Sberbank Alexander Vedyakhin, in an interview with RIA Novosti, named the main shortage in the labor market in the field of artificial intelligence. According to him, the mass demand for "IT specialists" with basic skills in working with neural networks no longer defines the market. The most sought-after in the coming years will be specialists who not only know how to use AI, but are able to integrate it into specific business processes, combine it with subject matter expertise (in construction, medicine, logistics) and be responsible for a measurable result.
The market is oversaturated with people with superficial knowledge of AI and is in dire need of those who combine AI with subject matter expertise and are responsible for business results. Such specialists will be most in demand in the coming years.
The hype is fading, requirements are changing
Vedyakhin noted that the high demand for "highly qualified AI specialists" will gradually subside, but high-level professionals will remain critically important. The key selection criterion is shifting from knowledge of tools to the ability to apply AI to achieve business goals. This requires the specialist not only engineering competencies, but also an understanding of industry specifics — whether it is supply chain management, building design or disease diagnosis.
AI and working professions: robots will arrive in 3–5 years
Answering a question about professions that artificial intelligence does not yet threaten, Vedyakhin named the areas of physical labor: installers, builders, concrete workers. According to him, the shortage of personnel in these industries will persist until specialized robots capable of working on construction sites appear.
Until specialized robots appear that will work on construction sites, the shortage of personnel in this industry will persist
The expert predicts that the mass introduction of such robots will occur in the next 3–5 years. Then, working professions will begin to require skills in interacting with automated systems — by analogy with how computer proficiency has become mandatory for office employees today.
For the labor market, this means a paradigm shift. Short-term courses in prompt engineering are ceasing to be a competitive advantage. Employers will be looking for specialists with hybrid competencies — for example, an engineer who understands the physics of construction processes and at the same time knows how to train a neural network to optimize the supply schedule.