'The winners are going to embrace change wholeheartedly'
The rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into business operations is redefining talent strategies across the Asia-Pacific, yet many companies are approaching the shift with caution, according to one expert.
Despite widespread layoffs in the tech sector, demand for data professionals remains strong—particularly in areas driven by AI and automation. However, companies are reassessing their hiring needs, especially for junior roles, while evaluating productivity gains enabled by AI, says Ryan Meyer, Managing Director of General Assembly APAC, in an interview with HRD Asia.
“AI is on the minds of everyone, and some companies are taking dramatic steps to incorporate AI into the workflow and to really reinvent the way that they do business.
“What this is causing in the short term – and what we see globally – is that there's less of a demand for junior talent, because it's much easier to partner or to have an AI work alongside a senior talent and boost productivity by 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%.”
A recent survey by Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MoM) found that 83% of employers in Singapore struggle to fill key tech roles, highlighting the urgent need for companies to rethink their workforce strategies.
Findings from IBM and Morning Consult recently revealed that 99% of 1,000 developers who are building AI applications for companies are exploring or developing AI agents.
Meyer notes that Singapore’s labour market reflects this global trend, with employers citing difficulty in finding skilled professionals, while jobseekers—particularly those recently affected by tech layoffs—struggle to secure positions.
“There's a transition period now where a lot of tech talent has been flooded into the market through layoffs last year… Companies [are taking] a pause on hiring while they figure out what kind of productivity boost they'll have with AI.”
More than half of professionals in Singapore are actively seeking new jobs, according to a previous report.
In Singapore, employers are “more conservative” when it comes to AI Adoption, say Meyer.
“They want to get things right, rather than be first… We’re probably still six months to a year away from the really dramatic changes.”
However, the adoption of AI represents a strategic inflection point, offering an opportunity to reallocate human resources to higher-value tasks while AI handles repetitive, lower-value work, he says.
“There's a real opportunity to boost productivity and to take people away from low level tasks and move them into higher value tasks, and let AI do the lower value tasks.”
Those who effectively make the transition will have a major advantage, says Meyer.
“The winners are going to embrace change wholeheartedly.”
He believes there's going to be “a wave of new companies that are AI-first” and that these firms will partner with more established players, make use of their data, and “make use of their existing operations that work in this new, AI-first modality”.
Use of AI tools in hiring has surged among HR leaders globally, according to a previous report.
While AI is transforming operational efficiency, employee engagement remains critical. Meyer believes businesses must empower their staff to retain top talent.
This boils down to “giving individuals the space to have a growth mindset, and allowing people to effectively blossom within the work that they are doing,” he says.
“As you contemplate an AI-enabled future, this notion of agency is probably the most important thing that we're going to have to teach individuals…
“If you have a super intelligence in your pocket and you're interacting with it in the way that you work, then it's going to fall on you and your agency how you use that in order to move forward.”
Meyer will be speaking about overcoming talent pool challenges in the data-driven economy at the Asia Tech x Enterprise (ATxE) in May.
