Deloitte Launches New AI Practice: What It Means for Future Skills?

Deloitte has launched a new Open Model Engineering practice to help organisations build and deploy Agentic AI using a mix of open and proprietary AI models. Alongside the technology push, the move also points to growing demand for specialised AI engineering skills.

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The practice, announced on September 2, will initially support clients across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

Deloitte said it will help organisations select, develop, deploy and operate AI applications based on their business needs, regulatory requirements and technology environment.

For HR and talent leaders, one of the key aspects of the announcement is Deloitte’s plan to build a dedicated pool of AI engineering talent. The company plans to hire, train and certify forward-deployed engineers globally through fiscal year 2027.

These engineers will work directly with clients to implement open-model AI solutions. Their work is expected to cover areas such as model selection, deployment, fine-tuning, infrastructure and AI governance.

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AI skills are becoming more specialised

Deloitte’s move comes as enterprises are exploring different approaches to AI rather than depending on a single model or platform. The company said organisations are considering open models for greater flexibility in deployment, cost management, data control and model choice.

This could create demand for professionals who can work across different AI models and technology environments. For organisations, the challenge will not only be hiring these skills but also developing them internally.

Also Read: Wipro Expands Employee Productivity Tracking: What TimeScope Records

Deloitte’s plan to train and certify engineers is therefore an important part of the announcement. It shows how AI capability can be built through a combination of hiring, structured training and certification.

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The practice will initially focus on enterprise AI applications using NVIDIA’s Nemotron family of open models and NIM microservices.

Deloitte also plans to support clients in fine-tuning open models and building AI systems designed to meet specific geographical, language and business requirements.

What it means for employers

As Agentic AI becomes part of enterprise operations, companies may need to rethink their AI talent plans. Technical expertise will remain important, but organisations will also need people who understand how AI systems are deployed, managed, secured and governed.

For HR teams, this could mean closer coordination with technology leaders to identify emerging AI roles, map new skills and create learning pathways for existing employees.

Deloitte’s new practice is still at an early stage, so it is too soon to say how large the resulting talent demand will be.

However, its investment in hiring, training and certifying engineers suggests that building AI capabilities is becoming as much a talent challenge as a technology challenge.