Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Business representatives and industry experts in Tashkent have discussed whether artificial intelligence (AI) can help address skills shortages and how companies can integrate the technology effectively.
The discussion club, titled “Can AI Help Ease the Skills Shortage?”, was organised ahead of the third International Financial Innovations Forum FINNEXT Asia 2026. The forum organisers said the meeting examined how AI is changing companies’ staffing needs and what is required to implement the technology effectively.
Participants included representatives of Deco Systems, Microcreditbank, IT Park Uzbekistan, U-BSS, Uzbekinvest, Hayot Bank, Hamkorbank, EY and other organisations, as well as leading national media outlets. The meeting was opened by FINNEXT CEO and forum organising committee chairwoman Evgeniya Yakunina.
Yakunina discussed AI’s potential for banks, insurance companies and fintech businesses, raising the question of whether the technology could compensate for a shortage of qualified employees or instead increase demand for workers with specialised skills.
One of the main topics was the changing labour market. Yulia Yakovleva, director of the Association of Employers of Uzbekistan and founder of Person Hunter, presented research findings on recruitment trends.
According to Yakovleva, the number of vacancies for business intelligence (BI) analysts and data analysts in Uzbekistan increased by 102% in 2025. At the same time, candidates’ salary expectations were 2.1 times higher than the offers made by employers.
The situation in software development was different. The number of vacancies for programmers increased by 6%, while candidates’ salary expectations were lower than the offers made by companies.
These differences indicate that staffing conditions in the IT sector need to be assessed by individual specialisation rather than across the industry as a whole.
Participants said AI could form part of the solution to staffing shortages, but adopting the technology alone would not be sufficient.
To achieve measurable results, companies need to ensure data quality, redesign work processes and organise employee retraining. AI implementation should therefore be treated as a comprehensive business transformation rather than a standalone technology project.
The discussion also identified six competencies considered important in an unstable business environment. These included management based on metrics and analytics, strategic thinking, and project management using Agile, Scrum and Waterfall methodologies.
The other competencies were a willingness to take responsibility and show initiative, the ability to remain effective in uncertain conditions, and an understanding of sustainable development and eco-efficiency principles.
Participants said these skills should be incorporated into employee development and retraining programmes.
Another presentation focused on preparing data for AI applications. Mikhail Shmitov, CEO of Deco Systems, presented the DecoSystems DMP platform, which automates the creation of data warehouses and the development of a semantic layer.
The discussion of these issues will continue at the third International Financial Innovations Forum FINNEXT Asia 2026, scheduled to take place in Tashkent on 19 November.
Concluding the meeting, Yakunina noted that Uzbekistan is marking the 35th anniversary of its independence this year.
She said that several tens of thousands of companies had been established in the country during the first half of the year, describing this as evidence of entrepreneurial energy. Yakunina also said that digital services, fintech, payment infrastructure and a new generation of technology companies in Uzbekistan had been built through the ideas, work and initiative of the people attending the meeting.
