AI training lags workplace adoption as reskilling gap grows
Most employers are building AI literacy for current roles while delaying wider workforce reskilling, new research suggests.
Most organisations are concentrating AI learning investment on employees' current jobs rather than preparing workforces for wider AI-driven change, according to research from The Conference Board.
The study, based on interviews with 35 enterprise leaders and a global survey of nearly 1,300 workers, found a gap between AI adoption and employer investment in training and reskilling.
More than half of respondents, 55.1%, said they use generative AI or AI agents daily or weekly. Only 33.3% had taken part in employer-provided AI training during the previous six months, while 28.3% said their employer offered no AI training.
Only 48% of workers said they had sufficient time during working hours to develop AI skills and 47.6% said they had access to the tools and resources needed.
Most organisations continue to prioritise AI literacy and basic prompting skills. Fewer are developing capabilities such as managing AI agents, integrating AI into workflows and applying AI to strategic business challenges.
Enterprise leaders interviewed for the research said formal training alone would not meet future workforce requirements. They highlighted the importance of combining formal learning with social learning, practical experimentation and workplace application.
The report recommends aligning AI capability development with business strategy and involving HR, learning, technology, legal and business functions in workforce planning. It also says organisations should prepare for broader reskilling before AI-driven workforce disruption accelerates.
Matt Rosenbaum, principal researcher, human capital, at The Conference Board, said organisations that create the greatest business value from AI will help employees apply AI in their work while continuously developing new capabilities.
Marion Devine, principal researcher, human capital, Europe, at The Conference Board, said employees were more optimistic about AI when they believed their employer would help them adapt as technology changed.
Report
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