Business Leaders Believe In AI But Aren’t Teaching It — Here’s How They Can

AI training gap in organizations: Despite widespread belief in the importance of AI expertise, many companies are failing to provide formal training, potentially jeopardizing the success of their AI initiatives.

• A staggering 95% of IT leaders believe AI projects will fail without staff who can effectively use AI tools, highlighting the critical importance of AI skills in the workplace.
• However, only 40% of executives and IT leaders report that their organizations offer formal AI training for employees, creating a significant gap between perceived importance and actual implementation.
• This discrepancy is further emphasized by employee perceptions, with just over half of workers feeling adequately trained in AI, according to a survey by digital workplace vendor Slingshot.

The urgency of AI upskilling: The rapid advancement of AI technology and its potential impact on the job market underscores the need for immediate action in employee training and development.

• Kamal Ahluwalia, president of Ikigai Labs, predicts that AI will eventually eliminate a third of current IT jobs, enhance another third, and create entirely new roles for the remaining third.
• The pace of change is expected to be swift, with Ahluwalia stating, “I think the jobs displacement will be substantial, and it will happen faster than we realize.”
• This urgency is compounded by the shortage of AI expertise in the job market, making internal training and upskilling crucial for organizations to meet their AI implementation needs.

Employee concerns and retention risks: The lack of AI training is not only a threat to project success but also poses significant risks to employee retention and job satisfaction.

• Nearly three-quarters of IT professionals surveyed by Pluralsight expressed fear that AI would make their skills obsolete, highlighting the anxiety surrounding AI’s impact on job security.
• Paradoxically, 81% of IT pros feel confident they can integrate AI into their roles right now, indicating a willingness and readiness to embrace AI technologies.
• Organizations that fail to provide AI upskilling opportunities risk losing talent to companies that prioritize AI training, as employees increasingly view such skills as essential for their career longevity.

Recommendations for effective AI training: Industry experts offer several strategies for organizations to bridge the AI training gap and prepare their workforce for an “AI everywhere” future.

• Erik Brown, senior partner at West Monroe Partners, emphasizes the importance of “building harmony” between employees and AI, focusing on how human creativity and critical thinking can complement AI’s efficiency.
• Dustin Johnson, CTO at Seeq, recommends using digestible, just-in-time courses tailored to individual employee needs to address time constraints and varying skill levels.
• Johnson also suggests leveraging AI itself to design and deliver training courses, potentially creating personalized learning experiences based on specific organizational contexts.
• Showcasing success stories from early AI adopters within the organization can help build confidence and demonstrate practical applications of AI technologies.

Challenges in AI training implementation: Despite the clear need for AI training, organizations face several obstacles in effectively delivering and maintaining relevant programs.

• The rapid pace of AI advancement poses a significant challenge, with training content potentially becoming outdated within days or weeks.
• David Harris, principal generative AI author at Pluralsight, notes the need for constant updates to training materials to reflect new AI capabilities and use cases.
• Time constraints for employees to engage in sustained learning blocks present another hurdle, necessitating innovative approaches to training delivery.

Broader implications: The AI training gap represents a critical juncture for organizations as they navigate the transformation of the workforce in the age of AI.

• The disparity between the recognized importance of AI skills and the actual provision of training highlights a potential blind spot in organizational strategy that could have far-reaching consequences.
• As AI continues to reshape industries and job roles, companies that fail to adequately prepare their workforce risk falling behind competitors and losing valuable talent.
• The challenge for CIOs and other executives lies not just in implementing AI technologies, but in fostering a culture of continuous learning and adaptation that can keep pace with the rapid evolution of AI capabilities.