AI is Here—Is Your Workforce Ready? We Read 4 AI Reskilling Reports, So You Don’t Have To
The rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping industries and job markets worldwide, making reskilling and upskilling more critical than ever. Organizations are grappling with the need to adapt to this AI-driven transformation from the boardroom to the classroom. To help you navigate this complex landscape, we’ve analyzed five leading reports on AI reskilling, so you don’t have to.
These reports offer a comprehensive look at the current state of AI-related skills; the challenges companies face in reskilling their workforce, and the strategic importance of adapting to this new reality. Let’s dive into the key takeaways from these reports and explore how they can help guide your strategy for staying competitive in the age of AI.
1. Reskilling in the Age of AI — Harvard Business Review
Harvard Business Review (HBR) emphasizes the urgency of reskilling in the age of AI, highlighting that companies must move beyond traditional training approaches. The report argues that businesses need to rethink their talent strategies, focusing on continuous learning and flexible skill development to keep pace with technological advancements.
Advancements in technology, especially AI, are rapidly transforming jobs. The OECD predicted that automation could eliminate 14% of global jobs and significantly change 32%. With many knowledge-based roles now vulnerable to automation, workers need to reskill to stay relevant.
As new technologies emerge, many jobs become outdated, and skills have a shorter lifespan, especially in tech fields. Companies must invest in reskilling to fill critical skill gaps and stay competitive. Simply upskilling isn’t enough—workers need new capabilities for future roles.
The Path Forward:
The article identifies five key shifts companies need to embrace for successful reskilling:
Make Reskilling a Strategic Priority: Companies like Amazon, Vodafone, and Infosys recognize that reskilling helps them stay ahead. They focus on developing in-house talent quickly to fill roles that are hard to source externally.
Engage Leadership: Reskilling efforts must involve all leaders, not just HR. Organizations like Ericsson and CVS ensure top management connects reskilling to the company’s goals, making it a priority across all departments.
Treat Reskilling as a Change-Management Process: Companies must understand skill needs, shift employee mindsets, and support on-the-job learning. This approach helps organizations like Wipro and Novartis integrate reskilled employees more effectively.
Get Employees on Board: Workers are more willing to reskill when they see clear benefits. Companies like Bosch and Vodafone offer time and financial support, encouraging employees to take part in reskilling programs.
Build Partnerships: Reskilling doesn’t happen in isolation. Companies should partner with governments, nonprofits, and educational institutions to access diverse talent pools and scale reskilling efforts. Programs like the Technology in Finance Immersion Programme in Singapore show how industry-wide collaborations can meet future skill demands.
What This Means for You: Companies must focus on reskilling as a strategic initiative to succeed in an AI-driven world. By engaging leaders, building partnerships, and aligning reskilling with company goals, organizations can adapt to technological changes and ensure their workforce stays relevant.
2. Your Strategy Is Only as Good as Your Skills — BCG
The BCG report "Your Strategy Is Only as Good as Your Skills" stresses the importance of skill development in corporate strategy. Despite its significance, many companies still treat skill-building as an HR task and report on it in limited ways, focusing more on processes than outcomes. Only a small percentage of firms link skill development to their business strategy, and even fewer report the impact of these efforts on productivity or employee growth.
Skill building is often viewed as a cost rather than a strategic investment, making it one of the first areas to face cuts during financial pressures. However, companies that embrace skill development as a priority, like Allianz and Bosch, show that aligning learning initiatives with business goals can future-proof their workforce.
The report highlights the importance of focusing on measurable outcomes, inspiring leadership involvement in learning, and creating a culture where skills are continuously developed and valued. Ultimately, companies that treat human capital investments with the same rigor as financial assets will be better positioned for success in the fast-evolving business landscape.
Key Insights:
Lack of Focus on Skill Building: About 20% of companies do not prioritize learning or skill building in their reports. Even when mentioned, it often appears as a generic part of HR or corporate social responsibility without any depth. The emphasis on skill development today mirrors how companies approached diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) 15 years ago—something that's now a core focus with dedicated reporting.
Skill Development Not Integrated with Strategy: Many companies view skill development as an HR initiative rather than an integral part of corporate strategy. Less than 15% of business leaders believe learning is crucial for their company’s strategy. Only a few firms forecast skill gaps based on their business needs, and only 24% connect skill-building efforts to strategic priorities.
Lack of Reporting on Skill Outcomes: Companies frequently focus on reporting the number of training hours and certifications but rarely on outcomes like productivity improvements or employee development. Only 4% of companies report skill-building outcomes that tie back to business or talent metrics.
Skill Building Seen as a Cost, Not an Investment: Most companies view skill development as an expense rather than an investment in future capabilities. Learning budgets are often the first to be cut during cost pressures, undermining long-term business performance. Even though companies spend significant amounts on skill development (up to $400 million), this investment is undervalued and deprioritized.
Reframing Skill Building as Strategic: Companies need to recognize skill building as a strategic priority, aligning it closely with business objectives. Companies like Allianz and Bosch are setting examples by tying skill development directly to digitalization and future workforce needs.
Measuring Skill Outcomes: Publicly reporting on business and talent outcomes, rather than just training hours, can drive greater impact. For example, AT&T's Real-Time Training program has demonstrated measurable business improvements, such as increased revenue and customer acquisition.
Cultural Shift and Leadership Buy-In: Leaders must champion skill development, showcase their learning experiences, and promote a lifelong learning culture. Encouraging skills development regularly in team meetings or new projects can create a culture of continuous improvement.
Future of Skill Building: The need for a skilled workforce will only grow, and companies prioritizing skill development and tracking its progress like any other asset will have a competitive advantage.
What This Means for You: Align your reskilling efforts with your strategic goals. Conduct regular skills audits to identify gaps and invest in targeted reskilling to ensure your workforce is equipped to execute your strategy effectively.
3. The State of AI in 2023: Generative AI’s Breakout Year — McKinsey
McKinsey’s report focuses on the explosive growth of generative AI and its implications for the workforce. In 2023, generative AI experienced a breakout year, revolutionizing multiple industries. Businesses rapidly adopt AI to automate tasks, enhance productivity, and improve customer experiences. AI's business impact is evident in better efficiency, faster development, and measurable performance improvements.
However, the increasing demand for AI talent highlights a growing skills gap, prompting companies to invest in upskilling their workforce and hiring experts. As investment in AI rises, so do concerns about ethical use, with companies paying more attention to ensuring responsible AI deployment and addressing issues like bias and transparency.
Key Insights:
Generative AI’s Rise: Generative AI has had a significant breakthrough in 2023, making major impacts across industries. Companies have started using AI for content creation, coding, data synthesis, and enhancing productivity, among other things.
Broadening AI Adoption: More businesses are incorporating AI into their operations, and the applications go beyond just tech firms. AI's ability to automate and optimize processes makes it an attractive tool for increasing efficiency.
Business Impact: AI, particularly generative AI, is leading to measurable improvements in business performance. Due to AI integration, companies report better productivity, faster development cycles, and improved customer experiences.
Skills Gap & Talent Demand: There is a growing demand for AI talent, especially those skilled in machine learning and generative models. As AI becomes more prevalent, companies invest heavily in upskilling employees and hiring experts to stay competitive.
AI Investment Growth: Investment in AI technologies, especially generative AI, has surged. Businesses recognize its transformative potential and allocate significant budgets to AI development and integration.
Ethical Considerations: As AI's influence grows, ethical concerns around its use, particularly generative AI's potential for misuse, have become prominent. Companies are increasingly aware of the need for responsible AI usage and the importance of addressing bias, transparency, and accountability in AI systems.
What This Means for You: Generative AI reshapes job roles and skill requirements. Invest in upskilling your workforce to work effectively with AI technologies, focusing on data literacy, AI ethics, and tool-specific skills.
4. AI Skills Report 2024 — Pluralsight
The "AI Skills Report 2024" highlights the rapid growth of AI adoption across industries, with most organizations investing in AI to improve efficiency and customer experience. However, there is a significant gap between AI investments and workforce readiness. Many IT professionals feel unprepared to use AI tools effectively, and most companies lack formal training programs to address this skills gap.
The report emphasizes the importance of upskilling and continuous learning for successful AI implementation and the need for organizations to overcome barriers like budget constraints and reliance on outsourcing AI talent. A comprehensive AI upskilling strategy is crucial for long-term success in leveraging AI technologies.
Key Insights:
AI Adoption is Growing Rapidly: Many organizations (81%) have already deployed or plan to deploy AI technologies soon. The promise of improved efficiency, enhanced customer experiences, and optimized business functions drive AI adoption.
AI Skills Gap: Despite the surge in AI adoption, most organizations face a significant skills gap. While 81% of IT professionals feel confident integrating AI into their roles, only 12% have actual experience working with AI. This gap hinders organizations from fully benefiting from their AI investments.
Lack of Formal AI Training: Only 40% of organizations have a formal AI training program. Many businesses invest in AI technology without prioritizing skill development, which prevents them from achieving long-term success.
Job Security and AI: The rise of AI has led to concerns about job security among IT professionals, with 74% fearing that their skills will become obsolete. However, 96% believe learning AI skills is essential to remain competitive and secure in their roles.
Investing in Upskilling: AI initiatives are unlikely to succeed without proper training. Both executives (95%) and IT professionals (94%) agree that investing in talent and creating a culture of continuous learning is crucial for AI success.
Barriers to Upskilling: Organizations face challenges in developing AI skills, including difficulty finding the right training, budget constraints, and assuming they can outsource AI expertise instead of developing in-house talent.
What This Means for You: Stay ahead of AI skill demands by investing in flexible learning solutions that allow employees to keep pace with the latest developments. Focus on building skills in high-demand areas like machine learning, data science, and AI ethics.
Conclusion: A Unified Strategy for Reskilling in the Age of AI
The insights from these five reports converge on a common theme: the need for strategic, continuous reskilling to navigate the challenges and opportunities presented by AI. Organizations must move beyond traditional training approaches and adopt dynamic, skills-based strategies to ensure their workforce can thrive in an AI-driven future.
Key Takeaways:
Align Reskilling with Strategy: Conduct regular skills audits and align reskilling efforts with strategic goals to close execution gaps.
Foster a Learning Culture: Cultivate an organizational culture that encourages continuous learning and experimentation with AI tools and techniques.
Invest in AI Collaboration Skills: Focus on upskilling employees to work alongside AI systems, emphasizing human-AI collaboration.
Leverage Flexible Learning Platforms: Embrace self-paced learning and micro-credentials to keep pace with the rapid evolution of AI skills.
As AI continues to evolve, so must our approach to reskilling. By taking proactive steps now, organizations can position themselves to harness the full potential of AI while empowering their workforce to succeed in the new era of work.
FAQs
1. What is the biggest challenge in reskilling for AI?
Rapid technological change often outstrips traditional training methods, making it challenging for organizations to keep their workforce's skills up-to-date.
2. How can companies align reskilling efforts with their strategic goals?
Conducting regular skills audits and mapping skills to strategic priorities can help ensure that reskilling programs directly support business objectives.
3. Why is AI collaboration important in reskilling?
Human-AI collaboration allows employees to augment their capabilities with AI tools, making them more effective and adaptable.
4. What role do leaders play in reskilling for AI?
Leaders must champion reskilling initiatives and foster a culture supporting continuous learning, ensuring the workforce is prepared for AI-driven changes.
5. How can organizations keep up with the demand for AI skills?
Investing in flexible, self-paced learning platforms and micro-credentials can help organizations quickly develop and scale AI skills within their workforce.