IBM certifies a much-needed 140 data scientists for AI development

As more companies realize the great need for data scientists to develop, experiment, and deploy artificial intelligence (AI), IBM designed a certification program. It offered it to the company workforce, and incentivized employees completed the program through coursework, skills training, and apprenticeships. IBM's certification and related programs "will speed the journey to AI and help improve business performance, efficiency and growth," said Martin Fleming, IBM vice president and chief economist. The demand for data scientists is recognized in the tech industry which "actually identifies the demand for data scientists as one of the industry's most pressing needs." Fleming cites social-media career platform LinkedIn's 2018 report, which found 151,000 US data scientist positions unfilled. "More companies are looking inward for ways to build the skills among their existing workforces," he said.