Japan Races To Hire 270,000 Artificial Intelligence Engineers - AI Summary

Already behind other countries in nurturing the IT professionals indispensable to a digital transformation, Japan in 2030 is expected to have 270,000 artificial intelligence and Internet of Things jobs that it will be unable to fill. With few graduates holding STEM degrees -- those in science, technology, engineering and mathematics -- Japan sees gloom in its future and the need to invest more in human resources. Cutting-edge IT workers, those who specialize in artificial intelligence and the smart devices that connect to what is known as the Internet of Things, made up 10%, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Demand for talent is expected to swell so fast that teaching conventional IT workers digital transformation skills will be unable to make much of a difference. Shiga professor Kaoru Kawamoto stresses the importance of changing the content of education to meet social needs rather than merely beefing up STEM programs.