Employers want talent with an aptitude for artificial intelligence (AI), but this demand has not translated into further employee training, according to recent data. A fear of being left behind in a changing job market has left workers searching for alternative resources to keep them employable in the future.
Seventy-one per cent of leaders say they would rather hire a less experienced candidate with AI skills than a more experienced candidate without them, according to the 2024 Work Trend Index Annual Report from Microsoft and LinkedIn. As digitisation needs across sectors become more complex, 66% of leaders say they would not hire anyone without AI skills.
However, despite high demand for technical skills, companies are not investing in upskilling existing talent, the report said. Forty-five per cent of executives in the US are not currently investing in AI tools or products for employees, and only 39% of people globally who use AI at work received training through their jobs.
The report, conducted by independent research firm Edelman, surveyed 31,000 full-time employed or self-employed knowledge workers across 31 markets between February and March.
Workforces want to sharpen their AI knowledge, according to the report. Seventy-nine per cent of workers say AI skills will broaden their job opportunities; 76% believe they need AI skills to remain competitive in the job market; and 69% think AI skills could help them be promoted.
But many feel unprepared for their roles to evolve and are looking for alternative routes to upskill, the report said. “In the past six months, the use of LinkedIn learning courses designed to build AI aptitude has spiked 160% among nontechnical professionals,” the report said, “with roles like project managers, architects, and administrative assistants looking to skill up most.”
Globally, skills are projected to change by 50% by 2030 (from 2016), with generative AI expected to accelerate this change to 68%, the report said. But leaders are at risk of widening tech talent gaps in their organisations: only 25% of companies are planning to offer training on generative AI this year, further cementing this training deficit.
Case study: UK
Workers in the UK are using social media or online platforms to upskill in digital topics to compensate for the lack of training they are receiving in the workplace, a new survey report from KPMG found. In that survey, only 44% of respondents said they have the right digital skills to perform their roles.
“Most UK workers (62%) have used social media or online platforms to learn new workplace skills, with 20% doing so regularly,” a news release said, “which suggests employers must develop more interactive ways of delivering their own in-house learning.”
The findings from KPMG suggest that limited options, poor quality, and lack of accessibility in workplace learning have employees seeking alternative, interactive ways to learn. KPMG surveyed 2,000 UK desk-based working adults from various sectors about the training offered by their employers and other learning avenues they used.
“There is a growing need for organisations to modernise their learning delivery tools to meet the expectation of modern workers,” Alex Ball, Learning Services director at KPMG UK, said in the release. “[Companies should] take control of the learning content and ensure that the learning consumed by their employees is aligned to their ambitions as an organisation.”
Half of all respondents said they preferred to learn new skills organically through on-the-job experience and practice, but that figure drops to 36% for 18-to-24-year-olds, suggesting those early in their careers want more structured learning.
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