Intelligent Foresight, Insight and Hindsight:
The Companies Leading and Lagging Behind the AI Upskilling Movement
- The World Economic Forum reported that 58% of employees expect their job skills to change significantly in the next five years because of AI.
- Dell Technologies predicts that 85% of the jobs in 2030 haven’t been invented yet.
- You can read the Dell Technologies report titled ‘Realizing 2030: A Divided Vision of the Future’
After absorbing this, anyone in the technical communication industry would be forgiven for assuming that upskilling is now an essential component of corporate culture or at least de rigueur for the AI-driven digital transformation.
Yet the statistics are surprising when you consider the industry sectors leading and lagging and the demographic of employees crying out for help. Read a report by Raconteur delving into why bug companies are expanding AI training, revealed surprising statistics.
While the more predictable names like JPMorgan Chase, Mastercard and S&P Global are rolling out training programmes for staff in all departments to prepare for the AI era, progress by many other significant enterprises has been slow.
- Less than 38% of US and 44% of UK employers offer training in AI tools
- Under 40% of those with programmes provide immersive, hands-on training
- 61% of desk-based workers in the UK want generative AI training
- Only 20% of UK employees can find AI learning resources
The upskilling task must appear daunting because, alongside AI literacy, staff will need training in cyber security, data security, and ethics concerning AI usage and the associated corporate policies, if they even exist.
It’s hard to show the benefits and improvements from AI training projects because they are still new, making it difficult to find clear, measurable results.
An Ikea Case Study
Surprisingly for some onlookers, the furniture giant Ikea runs an accelerator course for new digital hires with AI-related degrees to get them up to speed. Besides this, it operates a large-scale initiative to educate employees on generative AI supported by a plan to train 500 managers and 30,000 workers worldwide. As of August 2024, training targets were exceeded with over 40,000 employees being enrolled in AI training.
What About You?
Whatever sector of the digital communication business you are involved in, and regardless of whether your client or employer runs training modules to help prepare you for the digital revolution, you should look to upskill yourself at every opportunity.
What has your experience been in upskilling for the AI era? Does your company provide the training you want and need? What do you see as the most important skills to learn to progress your digital communication career? We’d love to have a chat!
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