AI adoption in Australia grows despite talent shortage

LinkedIn reports a significant shift towards the adoption of AI within Australian businesses, though challenges in sourcing skilled talent remain a concern.

Recent research by LinkedIn indicates that 83% of business leaders in Australia have made speeding up AI adoption a strategic priority for 2025. This marks a strong move towards integrating AI into business operations, reflecting a global trend where more than 10% of current job roles did not exist in 2000, such as AI Engineer and Data Scientist.

The evolving demands of the Australian job market mean that the skills required for various roles are expected to change by 66% by the year 2030 compared to 2016. LinkedIn's data highlights that without AI, this shift would be around 50%. The demand for AI-related skills has seen hiring in this sector increase by over 240% in Australia over the past eight years.

HR professionals in Australia face difficulty in recruiting candidates with the necessary qualifications, with 47% of recruiters reporting that less than half of job applications meet the required standards. This underlines the struggle to find the right balance between AI and human skills, with 37% identifying the lack of adequate soft skills, 35% noting a shortage in leadership and management skills, and 31% pointing out insufficient technical skills.

Adam Gregory, Senior Director, ANZ, LinkedIn Talent and Learning Solutions, commented on the transformation AI is inducing in recruitment and skill development. "AI is reshaping how we hire and develop talent, but the real work isn't just adopting AI — it's making it work for the business. Too often, companies pour resources into AI tools without the right talent to unlock their full potential, turning a game-changing opportunity into a missed one. To break this cycle, businesses need to approach hiring with a skills-first mindset – because while AI will be the tool that unlocks innovation, it's human skills like creativity, communication and collaboration that will help companies truly stay ahead of change."

LinkedIn finds that over 29 times more Australian members have added AI skills to their profiles since 2016, compared to a global increase of 20 times. Nonetheless, leaders are still focusing on upskilling their current workforce, with 79% of HR professionals ranking skill development, particularly in AI and essential soft skills, as a top priority for 2025.

Investment in learning and development is also considered crucial, with nearly 40% of business leaders indicating it as a key to accelerating AI adoption. LinkedIn is launching AI-powered tools to assist recruiters, allowing them to focus more on strategic tasks such as building relationships with candidates and enhancing candidate experiences.

The new Hiring Assistant, designed to alleviate repetitive tasks, aims to streamline the hiring process. Data reveals that 59% of HR professionals spend 1-3 hours each day sifting through applications, with 52% believing AI tools can expedite recruitment processes. LinkedIn Learning has also developed an AI-powered coaching feature to aid in building essential soft skills through interactive scenarios, providing personalised feedback to enhance learner confidence in workplace conversations.