AI Job Boom: 25,000 Opportunities in Switzerland

Context

In brief

• 25,000 AI job offers in 2025
• +9,000 positions compared to the previous year
• 28% of jobs highly exposed to automation
• Higher salaries in healthcare and energy

Key facts

• What: Historic increase in artificial intelligence job offers.
• When: 2025 data, report published on June 15, 2026.
• Where: Switzerland, with significant impact on Ticino and cross-border workers.
• Who: PwC Switzerland, Federal Council, Kuble, Impiegati Svizzera.
• Amount: 25,000 job offers, +9,000 year-on-year.

Artificial intelligence has ceased to be a futuristic promise to become a structural pillar of the Swiss labor market. According to the AI Jobs Barometer by PwC Switzerland, released on June 15, 2026, job offers requiring specific skills in this field reached 25,000 in 2025. This is a level never reached before, marking an increase of approximately 9,000 positions compared to the previous year. Although the share of total job advertisements remains limited, at 1.8%, the trajectory is unmistakable: AI is reshaping the professional landscape far beyond the borders of the technology sector itself.

The evolution of required skills

'AI changes how careers begin,' noted Adrian Jones, Head of Workforce at PwC Switzerland. The revolution is not just about the automation of routine tasks that once served as training grounds for new hires, shifting focus toward human capabilities such as discernment, adaptation, and leadership already in the early stages of a career. Companies are therefore forced to review their talent development strategies. PwC's global analysis, which examined over a billion job advertisements across twenty-seven countries and territories, highlights that since 2019, professions most exposed to artificial intelligence have seen an average addition of 248 new skills per role, a growth rate much higher than those less affected by the digital transformation.

Salary premiums and growth sectors

Possessing AI skills translates into concrete advantages on the compensation front. Those who hold these skills can aspire to higher-than-average salaries, with particularly significant premiums in the healthcare and energy sectors. This data confirms that the demand for such skills is expanding to sectors traditionally distant from pure technology, creating new professional niches. For candidates seeking positions in these fields, the prospects for economic growth are therefore tangible and supported by market data.

Operational details

For the approximately 78,500 Italian cross-border workers active in Ticino, the boom in artificial intelligence presents a two‑sided scenario. On one hand, the chronic shortage of qualified talent in Swiss territory clashes with a growing demand for tech‑savvy profiles, offering concrete opportunities in sectors such as healthcare, energy, and finance. On the other hand, the speed at which required skills change poses the risk of rapid professional obsolescence, making continuous training no longer optional but a strategic necessity.

The information gap on support tools

A Federal Council report on professional reintegration, adopted on 5 June 2026, highlights a specific issue for those living across the border: cross‑border workers are often a less‑informed category regarding Swiss institutional channels. The document stresses that unemployment insurance has the authority to fund continuous training courses for the unemployed or for those threatened by unemployment. In a rapidly changing labour market, this tool is an essential lever, but knowledge of it remains limited among the cross‑border population. To this is added cantonal variability: availability and access practices for these funds differ from canton to canton, a fragmentation that the federal government itself flags as a critical point to address.

Exposure of various professional sectors

The impact of AI is not uniform across all professions. An analysis by Zurich‑based consultancy Kuble, carried out with Swiss Employees and published on 16 June 2026 on a sample of three million jobs and 86 occupations, quantifies the phenomenon. More than one in four jobs in Switzerland (28%) is highly exposed to artificial intelligence, while for 34% exposure is medium and for 38% it is low. The sectors most at risk are office‑based: software developers, cybersecurity specialists and database administrators, system administrators, but also workers in administration, graphics, public relations, journalism, translation, and legal and financial consultancy. By contrast, construction and crafts remain almost entirely excluded, while healthcare and the social sector show relative protection, confirming opportunities for those working in these fields. The study notes that among the most exposed groups the number of unemployed is rising faster, a warning bell for those employed in administration or services.

Recommended tools

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Key points

To maximize opportunities and mitigate risks offered by this transformation, workers and cross-border commuters must adopt a proactive approach. With approximately 78,562 cross-border workers active in Ticino in the first quarter of 2026 — out of a national total of 413,000 according to the Federal Statistical Office — the Canton remains a crucial hub. Sectors such as technology, life sciences, healthcare, and finance continue to attract talent, but competition requires constant updating.

Step 1: Assessing the exposure of your role

The first practical step consists of understanding to what extent your profession is influenced by automation. Using the categories defined by the Kuble study, workers must identify whether they belong to the 28% with high exposure (such as administrators or translators) or to protected sectors (such as healthcare or crafts). This assessment is fundamental for deciding whether to invest in updating digital skills or instead strengthening soft skills like leadership and adaptation, which algorithms struggle to replicate.

Step 2: Learning about training funding

As highlighted by the Federal Council report, it is crucial to overcome the information gap. Cross-border workers should actively seek information from the cantons where they work or the relevant offices to access unemployment insurance funds intended for continuing education. Since practices vary from Canton to Canton, it is necessary to specifically check local regulations. Despite the bureaucracy, accessing these courses can make the difference between keeping your job or falling behind in a market that rewards those with AI skills.

Step 3: Moving towards expanding sectors

For those looking for a job or thinking about changing sectors, the data indicates a clear path. Healthcare and energy offer not only greater resilience to automation but also higher salaries for those with digital skills. It is advisable to evaluate job opportunities in these sectors, taking advantage of the unmet demand for qualified talent.

Investing in the right skills today means ensuring your employability tomorrow. To evaluate the impact of a potential career in these emerging sectors or professional retraining on your income, it is useful to use financial planning tools. Find out how your salary could change with our salary calculator.

Source: tio.ch