South African professionals are increasingly adding artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to their CVs, with the number of candidates listing AI-related skills almost doubling annually since 2023, according to CareerJunction’s Q3 2026 Employment Insights Report.
The analysis of more than two million candidate records on the online recruiter’s database reveals a sharp increase in professionals acquiring AI-related capabilities, reflecting the technology’s growing influence on the local labour market.
The findings point to a shift in the skills that employers value, with practical AI knowledge becoming increasingly relevant across business, administrative and technical occupations.
"AI is no longer relevant only to technology professionals. Employers are increasingly seeking AI proficiency in traditional business and administrative roles. CareerJunction’s data reveals a sharp increase in professionals adding AI-related skills to their CV profiles,” notes the report.
“Since 2023, the number of candidates listing these skills has almost doubled each year, reflecting the growing importance of AI in the workplace. At the same time, AI capabilities are becoming more common in job advertisements."
Similarly, Pnet's August 2025 report found that demand for jobs requiring AI skills had increased by 488% over six years, including 151% growth in the preceding three years. Demand for specialist AI positions, meanwhile, grew by 252% over six years, as employers increasingly look for people who can apply AI in conventional occupations, rather than recruiting only professionals who develop AI systems.
Mercer's 2026 Global Talent Trends report also highlights growing pressure on South African employees to update their capabilities as AI reshapes the workplace. The research found that 65% of local employees would be willing to trade a 10% salary increase for opportunities to develop AI and digital skills, while 53% fear their current capabilities could become obsolete.
AI proficiency is no longer confined to software developers, data scientists and other technology specialists. CareerJunction says employers are increasingly looking for professionals who can use AI tools to improve productivity, streamline work processes and support business decisions.
One example highlighted in the report is a vacancy advertised on CareerJunction that lists AI productivity tools as a job requirement, illustrating how these capabilities are finding their way into conventional business positions.
The report highlights the importance of professionals keeping their CVs current as they acquire additional technical and practical capabilities.
“This expanding skills requirement comes against a challenging backdrop for the broader IT employment market. CareerJunction recorded an 18% year-on-year decline in recruitment activity for IT professionals in Q3 2026, while jobseeker engagement for IT positions increased by 61% over the same period.”
Data wizards
CareerJunction identifies several broad categories of AI-related expertise emerging in SA’s workforce: AI strategy, governance and implementation; machine learning and AI development; AI data science and data engineering; AI frameworks and development tools; and intelligent automation and robotic process automation (RPA).
AI strategy, governance and implementation is among the newest categories, emerging over the past two years. Its growth reflects the need for professionals who can guide organisational adoption, establish governance frameworks, manage risks and ensure AI investments support business objectives.
“Meanwhile, machine learning and AI development remain established technical disciplines, involving the design, training and deployment of models for applications such as predictive analytics, forecasting, recommendation systems and computer vision.”
The increasing importance of data science and engineering also highlights the need for reliable information to support AI systems. These capabilities include data preparation, quality management and the development of training datasets, with roles such as data scientists, data engineers and MLOps engineers, notes the report.
Intelligent automation and RPA skills are gaining ground, particularly in finance, healthcare, manufacturing and logistics.
“Another growing area is expertise in AI frameworks and development tools. The number of professionals listing these capabilities has approximately doubled each year, reflecting the need for specialised technical knowledge to build, test and deploy AI solutions.”
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