The beginning of a significant growth trajectory

From 2016 to 2023 completions of degrees and certificates (from colleges & universities) in Artificial Intelligence grew almost 10X. Even with the significant observed growth, as of Fall 2023 there were only ~4,000 students (up to ~7,000 in Fall 2024) enrolled in these programs. In early 2023 The University of Texas at Austin launched a $10,000 online master's degree in AI on the edX platform. In the coming years, the school expects that program to enroll 4,000 students — roughly equal to the total enrollment in AI/ML programs at all colleges & universities in the country in 2023.

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Over the next few years, the supply of AI talent in the marketplace is projected to grow at a 22.7% CAGR. This strong growth projection is significantly faster than higher education is projected to grow. In spite of this, a severe shortage of AI skills is projected to persist. Bain & Company estimates that as of 2025, the shortage of AI skills was estimated to be between 606,000 and 646,000. By 2027 the shortage is projected to be between 554,000 and 699,000.This shortage is driven by an astounding level of demand projected from employers. Bain & Company projects that employment across the spectrum of AI will grow at at 17.6% to 21.0% CAGR while the World Economic Forum (WEF) projects that AI employment globally will grow at a 12.6% CAGR. Other estimates specifically related to technical AI experts (Developers & Engineers) project that this employment will grow significantly faster, at a CAGR of 40.0%, although this population only represents about 6.4% of all AI employment.

Job postings illustrate the exponential growth in demand

In addition to the growth projected in employment of AI workers, job postings paint a compelling picture of the exploding demand for AI skills. From 2012 to 2024, the volume of job postings calling for AI skills grew nearly 7X (17.4% CAGR) from 109,000 to 750,000. During this time, total job openings grew just over 2X (6.1% CAGR). Compare this to trend and volume of AI job postings to another rapidly expanding, but slightly more mature market - Cybersecurity. Cyberseek data shows that in 2012, there were 229,000 job postings for Cybersecurity roles, more than twice as many openings than there were for AI-related jobs. From 2012 to 2024, Cybersecurity job postings grew a little over 2X (6.4% CAGR) to 485,000. As of 2024 there are now 55% more openings for AI-related roles than there are for Cybersecurity roles.

The growth in the volume of AI job postings means that as of 2024, 1.7% of all online job postings call for AI skills, up from 0.7% in 2012. That share is almost certain to continue to rise, as 40% of workers in the United States report using AI at work in 2025 while 88% are projected to do so by 2028.

While 1.7% of all job postings in 2024 called for AI skills, the most recent data from Indeed shows that this share has continued to grow rapidly in 2025. As of June 30, 2025, the share of job postings that require AI skills is up to 2.8%.

Job postings also illustrate that the demand for AI skills is no longer exclusive to any one corner of the labor market. A recent report from Lightcast notes that as of 2024, the majority (51%) of job postings requiring AI skills are for non-tech roles, up from 39% in 2019. The share of job postings requiring AI skills is growing across nearly all occupation groups, and across all levels of required educational attainment.

Higher education institutions and edtech companies are responding to demand

The earliest known master's degree in Artificial Intelligence was launched in 1987 by the University of Georgia and the first bachelor's degree in Artificial Intelligence was launched by Carnegie Mellon University in 2018. As of early 2025, approximately 1% of institutions now offer a master's degree in Artificial Intelligence (about 60 institutions), approximately 2.5% offer a bachelor's degree in Artificial Intelligence (about 150 institutions), about 3-5% offer a non-degree program in Artificial Intelligence, and 44% offer coursework on the topic. Additionally, community colleges have now joined the fray as Maricopa Community College launched the first associate's degree in AI in 2020. Colleges are reporting strong results and high degrees of optimism regarding these programs.

SUNY University at Buffalo saw enrollment in its master's degree in AI grow about 20X from 2020 to 2024, from 5 students to 103 students (113% CAGR).

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Oregon State University's saw enrollment in its master's degree in AI grow nearly 5X from 2021 to 2023, from 15 students to 73 students (121% CAGR).

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The initial cohort of the University of Texas at Austin's $10,000, 18 month long online MS in AI on the edX platform was 700 students.

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As discussed, higher education is currently enrolling only a very small percentage of the population that is upskilling in the field of Artificial Intelligence. Edtech companies have seized the opportunity (sometimes in conjunction with university partners) and are enrolling serving more than 99% of the AI upskilling population. These training and development providers are also reporting very strong results in their AI (non-degree) programs.

Enrollment in the United States in Generative AI courses on the Coursera platform grew 135% year-over-year in 2024.

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edX reported that enrollment in AI-related MOOCs grew 54% and AI-related executive education programs grew 424% year-over-year in 2023.

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Enrollment in Codecademy's Machine Learning/AI Engineer Career Path program grew 55% year-over-year in 2023.

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Are you ready to dive into the report and be equipped to lead your institution or organization as you try to navigate the world of AI education and upskilling? Download your copy of the report below.

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