OfferZen’s latest data report reveals AI frees up developer capacity, accelerating customer impact
It’s becoming harder for South African tech companies and software developers to ignore AI tools and their increasing impact on the country’s tech sector. In 2024, most South African developers use AI tools like code-writing assistants in their roles and projects.
On top of this, the majority of developers say their companies allow or encourage them to use AI tools to create production code.
OfferZen, South Africa’s largest tech talent marketplace, surveyed over 4000 developers to create the 2024 AI Skills and Impact Data Report and unpack the impact of AI on developer skills, companies and the broader tech ecosystem.
58% of engineering managers say they’ve shipped high-impact work quicker or more consistently with AI
Contrary to some concerns that AI’s hype isn’t translating to measurable impact, the data shows that AI can lead to productivity gains. This is due to how developers are using these tools.
Developers primarily use AI tools like ChatGPT for data analysis, automating processes, and levelling up. As a result, this frees up capacity allowing them to drive impact faster. We can see this playing out in the data.
While assessing the true extent of AI’s impact is challenging, the initial results are promising: 58.8% of engineering managers and 75.3% of developers report a faster and more consistent impact with AI.
However, it’s worth noting that nearly a quarter of engineering managers report no productivity impact, suggesting that AI use alone can’t achieve results. Instead, it shows the need for a proper strategy governing the direction, integration and quality control of AI output to get the most out of these tools.
AI is shifting the focus away from developers’ technical skills to their problem-solving and soft skills
Just as AI alone can’t increase productivity, developers also can’t just rely on AI tools to improve their outputs. To get the most out of these tools, they need to master a new set of skills. The community lists the most important of these as:
- An understanding of core AI principles,
- Prompt engineering, and
- Experience with AI-related tools, libraries and programming languages like Python, Keras and TensorFlow.
They need to master them urgently, as nearly half of the respondents say developers already need these skills, and over 80% say they’ll be a necessity within the next few years.
However, AI’s biggest impact is the shift away from technical skills to soft skills. Across the board, both developers and tech leads see complex problem-solving as the most important skill in the AI age.
However, developers appear to be overlooking soft skills and continue to view technical skills as crucial to their success. Tech leads, on the other hand, are placing more emphasis on candidates’ ability to communicate and work as part of a team as companies are starting to focus more on teamwork to drive results.
Part of the reason for this can be tied to other changes in the software development process. Modern software projects are complex and require developers to collaborate across teams and with multiple stakeholders. Soft skills that support effective teamwork ensure that developers can successfully navigate the requirements of a project.
As a result, companies should consider assessing soft and problem-solving skills earlier in the hiring process: This way, only candidates who would be a good ‘fit’ progress to later stages of the process for a technical assessment.
Click here to get OfferZen’s full AI Skills and Impact report
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