As many as 62% of the 10,000 respondents surveyed as part of Hays’ global “Tech Talent Explorer” study identified the development of artificial intelligence and machine learning as the factor that will have the greatest impact on the IT industry. However, vulnerability to intelligent automation varies depending on the area of specialisation and the country. Labour market experts also argue that AI is not replacing IT workers, but is forcing them to develop new skills.
In Poland, artificial intelligence is changing the work of specialists in technical roles the fastest — particularly programmers and analysts. The most resistant to intelligent automation, meanwhile, are positions related to IT project management and security.
Polish IT specialists rate their preparedness for the coming changes at 3.49 on a scale from 0 to 5, a result close to the global average. AI experts show the highest level of confidence, while testing specialists report the lowest. Employees in every area of specialisation recognise the specific technical skills they will need in the future. At the same time, they are aware of the need to develop adaptive and leadership skills.
The results of Hays’ “Tech Talent Explorer” study show that artificial intelligence is clearly changing technology roles — the way people work, the scope of tasks, and the skills and knowledge needed to perform them. This trend continues to gain importance, accelerating the transformation of roles and, consequently, employers’ expectations of candidates for IT positions.
“Organisations have stopped asking themselves whether it is worth implementing artificial intelligence. Today, the question increasingly is how and where to implement it wisely. This means redesigning processes and roles in a way that brings companies the greatest possible benefit. Intelligent automation therefore does not mean the elimination of IT jobs, but their evolution. In recruitment for technology positions, the focus on expert technical and engineering skills is growing year by year, as is the importance of soft skills. Specialists in modern technologies are increasingly aware of this,” comments Łukasz Grzeszczyk, Executive Director CEE at Hays.
IT Specialists See AI’s Impact on Their Area of Expertise
An analysis of the data included in “Tech Talent Explorer” shows that IT experts agree: in the near future, the development of artificial intelligence and machine learning will have the greatest impact on their work, with 62% of respondents pointing to this factor.
What will drive change in the IT industry in the near future?
| Factor | Share of responses |
|---|---|
| Development of artificial intelligence and machine learning | 62% |
| Development of cloud computing and edge computing | 12% |
| Stronger cybersecurity measures | 12% |
| Wider use of automation and robotics | 10% |
| Expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT) | 4% |
Source: Hays Tech Talent Explorer 2026.
Respondents in the Hays study rate their preparedness for the coming changes as moderate, at 3.51 on a scale from 0 to 5. Polish IT specialists, with a score of 3.49, do not differ significantly from the global average or from their counterparts in Germany, the United Kingdom or the United States.
Globally, the highest sense of readiness for the transformation of the technology sector is declared by AI specialists, with a score of 4.27, and DevOps specialists, with 3.72. The lowest scores are reported by people working in testing, at 3.31, and software development, at 3.38. This confirms the growing importance of highly specialised and technical skills in the labour market. The more expert a role is, and the more it requires advanced hard skills, the more confident employees are about the “resilience” of their skills in the face of upcoming changes.
The results of the study conducted in Poland show similar trends. Specialists in artificial intelligence declare the highest level of preparedness for the coming changes, at 4.67. However, unlike the global results, the lowest level of preparedness is reported by data and analytics experts, at 3.25.
How do you rate your preparedness for the coming changes?
| Market / specialisation | IT industry overall | AI | Data and analytics | Project and change management | Software development | Testing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Global | 3.51 | 4.27 | 3.51 | 3.51 | 3.38 | 3.31 |
| Poland | 3.49 | 4.67 | 3.25 | 3.67 | 3.89 | 3.50 |
Rating on a scale from 0 to 5, where 0 means completely unprepared and 5 means fully prepared.
Source: Hays Tech Talent Explorer 2026.
IT Security Specialists Most “Resistant” to Automation
Horsefly Analytics, commissioned by Hays, assessed the impact of AI on individual areas of AI specialisation and then rated each of them on a scale from 0 to 100. A higher score indicates that more tasks in a given role may be automated or fundamentally changed by AI. The analysis showed that in Poland, artificial intelligence has the strongest impact on the work of developers and analysts. For example, the AI Impact score for Java developers was estimated at 58, and for test analysts at 61.
AI Impact on the Polish technology market
| Role | AI Impact score |
|---|---|
| Security Engineer | 6 |
| Project Manager | 18 |
| Change Manager | 24 |
| Scrum Master | 28 |
| AI Engineer | 56 |
| Data Engineer | 56 |
| Java Developer | 58 |
| Test Analyst | 61 |
Rating on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 means no impact and 100 means a powerful impact of AI on a given role.
Source: Horsefly Analytics for Hays Tech Talent Explorer 2026.
For professionals working in these fields, this means the need to develop competencies and acquire new skills. According to Polish developers, the key area in the future will be IT solution architecture. Testing specialists, meanwhile, see QA process improvement and IT security testing as the most future-oriented areas of interest.
The analysis also showed that in the Polish technology industry, artificial intelligence currently has the smallest impact on coordination and strategic roles, such as project management and IT security. The AI Impact score for the role of security engineer is just 6, which indicates a minimal impact of artificial intelligence. Project managers and change managers received scores of 18 and 24 respectively, meaning they are only moderately affected by AI and largely remain unchanged.
IT Project Management More Resistant to Automation in Poland Than Abroad
Although AI Impact scores for Poland are in line with global trends, Horsefly Analytics assessed the impact of artificial intelligence on project management roles in the Polish market as lower than in other countries. On the one hand, this may indicate untapped automation potential in these areas of specialisation. On the other, the reason may lie in the profile of IT investments carried out in Poland.
“Many transformational technology processes are still being located in Poland. Organisations from around the world recognise the attractive value-for-money ratio of the Polish market, as well as the experience of local professionals in delivering strategically important processes. As a result, demand for scrum masters, IT change managers and project managers remains very high in Poland, because they play a key role in the implementation of this type of investment project. High market demand and the importance of these roles may paradoxically increase their resistance to intelligent automation. In other countries, where the market context is completely different, attempts to automate tasks performed in these positions may simply be easier to carry out,” explains Łukasz Grzeszczyk of Hays.
Hays is an international recruitment and HR consulting company founded in the United Kingdom in 1968. It specialises in recruiting specialists as well as middle- and senior-level managers for permanent, contract and temporary positions.
The group operates in dozens of countries worldwide, serving companies across various sectors, including IT, finance, engineering, marketing, logistics and sales. Hays has been present in Poland since 2002, with offices in Warsaw, Kraków, Katowice, Wrocław, Poznań and Gdańsk.
