The profile of talent required in the AI era is expanding beyond deep expertise in a single field to include “neo-generalists” who create value across multiple fields. The survey identified the relationship between the attitudes and capabilities of 4 occupations, including engineers, and the status of talent development.
The survey was conducted to identify the talent profiles and capability requirements needed in the AI era among corporate human resources managers and executives. It covered 3,832 people in the screening survey and 809 people in the main survey. The survey was conducted by Insource Research Institute Co., Ltd., from early to late July 2026.
According to the executive summary, companies that consider responding to AI and digitalization an urgent priority show a stronger tendency to emphasize a combination of capabilities, including stakeholder coordination, the ability to take on challenges and execute, AI utilization, judgment and ethical judgment. By occupation, engineers are expected to translate customer needs into technical solutions and build trust, and significant differences were observed in the importance placed on the ability to translate needs.
The analysis identified “the willingness to cross boundaries” and “translation skills” as capabilities considered important across occupations. It also showed that capabilities including these form an integrated capability structure linked to value judgment, ethical judgment and a willingness to take on challenges.
The 4 indicators of talent development and performance, namely continuous development, performance across departments, serving as the core of transformation projects and being identified as candidates for future management positions, showed a positive relationship with organizational performance. The findings indicated that these 4 indicators can explain approximately 70% of the variation in organizational performance.