A recent survey of27,000 digital workers by Boston Consulting Group of found thattwo-thirds of skilled workers said they would be willing to leavetheir home country for the right job. (Image:Shutterstock)

U.S. employers are struggling to find skilled workers to meet the growing demand forartificial intelligence experts.

The need for workers who understand AI has quickly outgrown thesupply of employees with the appropriate training, reports theWall Street Journal. Educational institutionsand training programs have not yet adjusted their offerings toreflect what the market is demanding.

Without enough qualified workers at home, employers arenaturally looking abroad.

Related: Prepare for a skills shift: What employers need todo to adapt their workforce

The good news for employers is that plenty of qualifiedemployees around the world are eager to come to the U.S. A recentsurvey of 27,000 digital workers by Boston Consulting Group offound that two-thirds said they would be willing to leave theirhome country for the right job. That percentage is much greaterthan in other fields.

Workers who said they were open to moving were most likely tocite the U.S., followed by Canada and Germany, as desireddestinations.

Of course, hiring an immigrant is not just a matter of what theemployer and employee want. The U.S. government can make thingsvery difficult. In recent years, it has increasingly exercised thatright.

In the fourth quarter of 2016, at the end of the Obamaadministration, 92 percent of applications for H-1B visas wereapproved. That dropped to 83 percent in the final quarter of 2017and 75 percent at the end of 2018.

H-1B visas are granted to employers to bring skilled employeesto the U.S. The visa is typically good for three years and can beextended another three years. The visa is tied to the employer; ifthe worker's employment ends, he or she must leave the country.

At the same time, demand for workers in AI has skyrocketed.AI-related job postings increased 159 percent in the past 12months, according to an analysis of Labor Department data byCompTIA, an IT trade association. The organization estimates thereare 700,000 unfilled AI-related jobs in the U.S.

Read more: 

• Higher-skilled workers more likely to leave whenfirms automate
• Americans expecting AI to change theirworkplace
• Employers will need to hire for digital skillstalent to survive