Employers now prefer candidates who can apply AI tools into everyday workflows to boost efficiency and competitiveness. (Image source: 123RF)
artificial intelligence (aye) With literacy rapidly emerging as an important skill in the South African labor market, companies are increasingly looking for candidates who can apply AI tools not only in technical environments but in everyday tasks.
This is according to Pine Job Market Trend Report for MarchWhich reveals a structural shift in the way AI skills are distributed across different businesses, marking a transition from expert-led adoption to widespread, cross-functional use across industries.
Pinet's findings are based on empirical data Stepstone Group from South Africa's recruitment platforms, which collectively host over 11 million registered users and over 5,000 recruiters.
The report shows that organizations are increasingly competing for candidates who can demonstrate not only technical AI engineering experience but also practical AI application skills.
PNET's analysis shows that between 2016 and 2019, AI-related skills development in SA was largely concentrated among developers and data specialists.
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According to the report, this is changing: Even during this early stage of AI adoption, there has been a significant spread of AI use cases into non-technical roles.
Data from PNET shows that the demand and supply of AI-related skills is now distributed across multiple sectors, including information technology, finance, marketing, education, design, manufacturing, sales, and business management.
In IT, professionals are using AI to streamline coding, testing, and deployment processes.
In finance departments, AI tools are applied in reporting, bookkeeping, and data processing. Marketing and sales teams are using AI to generate customer insights and analyze data as well as create innovative content. Administrative staff are automating routine tasks to improve efficiency, accuracy and turnaround times.
In architecture and engineering, AI is being used to optimize design and improve sustainability outcomes, while manufacturing industries are applying it to predictive maintenance, predictive analytics, and quality control.
“Some professionals were using precursors to today's AI solutions as early as 2010. For example, bookkeepers were using the Dext AI-powered financial automation system, but they were the exception rather than the rule,” says Anja Bates, head of data at PNET.
“Today, AI tools are being used across a wide range of businesses to improve productivity, decision making, and efficiency.”
Anja Bates, Head of Data at PNET.
The report identifies 2023 as a major inflection point, driven by the mainstream emergence of generic AI tools like ChatGPT.
Since then, the number of AI-skilled job seekers has begun to grow faster than for traditional AI development roles, indicating a shift from building AI systems to using AI systems in business functions.
The report says this reflects a broader workplace transformation, where AI is increasingly incorporated into day-to-day workflows and is no longer limited to specialist technology roles.
According to Pinet, employers seeking AI skills are now dividing AI broadly into two categories: development skills and application skills.
Development capabilities include machine learning, natural language processing, chatbot development, and AI system design. Applications skills, meanwhile, focus on using tools like ChatGPT, Zapier and Dext to increase productivity in non-technical roles.
“PNET’s data shows a clear shift away from specific AI expertise toward broader, cross-functional adoption,” Bates says. “As AI tools become more accessible, professionals who develop AI-related skills will be better positioned to remain competitive in the evolving job market.”
She says basic AI literacy is also becoming a differentiator for employability, especially as organizations look to improve productivity and decision making through automation.
Augmenting talent with AI competencies. (Source: Pinet)
Commenting on the report, Dr. Mario Landman, Executive: Educational Technology and Innovation Independent Education Institute And ADvTECHThe Center of Academic Excellence states that AI skills have decisively shifted to the core of economic competitiveness.
“AI skills have transformed from a niche benefit to the foundational currency of the modern digital economy,” he says. “For South African companies, the 77% increase in demand for these skills over the past 12 months reflects a shift from experimental use to a strategic need for survival.”
Landman explains that this acceleration is driven by technological advances and macro-economic pressures, especially as organizations integrate more advanced AI systems capable of making autonomous decisions.
“The development of larger action models means AI is moving beyond simple interactions to performing complex tasks and making autonomous decisions,” he says. “As companies reshape the boundaries of automation in areas like logistics and manufacturing, they need skilled professionals to manage these systems.”
Landman believes that beyond automation, AI is being increasingly adopted as a lever for operational efficiency, with measurable impacts already emerging across South African enterprises.
“AI is currently shortening the decision cycle from weeks to minutes, allowing organizations to increase productivity by 30% to 40%,” he said. “In South Africa, 32% of companies already report solid financial returns from initial AI investments.”
He describes the current labor market environment as a “race to the Red Queen”, where organizations must constantly adopt new technologies to remain competitive.
“We are in a ‘Red Queen Race’ where the pace of technological development is faster than traditional skill production,” he explains. “Most South African companies now see AI as a critical part of their business strategy; those that fail to adapt face huge attrition and declining margins as competitors automate labour-intensive tasks.”
In education, there is a growing demand for AI teachers, researchers, learning and development experts, and content creators who now need to work with generative AI tools.
Landman claims, “The education sector has seen the strongest growth in AI-related job postings, reflecting the integration of AI into curriculum design and institutional delivery.”
Dr. Mario Landman, Executive: Educational Technology and Innovation at the Independent Institute of Education and ADvTECH's Center of Academic Excellence.