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The AI skills gap is getting worse: Why and what to do
Many employees lack necessary AI skills. Here’s why that matters and how companies can get started with the needed training, while leaving some choices to individual teams.
A lack of AI skills is leading to a labor shortage, and many employees do not possess the expertise needed to use the technology for their existing jobs. As learning and development staff would be involved in any upskilling efforts, HR can work with leaders at their company to address the AI skills gap in a few different ways.
Some challenges that companies might encounter include workers who are reluctant to adopt AI skills because they believe they will be replaced and leaders who are struggling to decide which AI skills to teach employees.
Here’s more about the AI skills gap and steps that companies can take to address it.
Why the AI skills gap matters
According to some recent surveys, employees have concerns about their lack of AI training.
Fifty-one percent of surveyed employees said they do not feel they are able to use AI well, according to the 2025 "Trust, attitudes and use of artificial intelligence" report by the University of Melbourne and KPMG International. In addition, 47% of employees said they have not received any training in AI or similar areas.
Employees also said they have made mistakes with AI, further indicating a need for training.
Between 48 and 49% of employees admitted to having fed sensitive company data -- including information related to company finances, customers, sales and copyrighted content -- to public AI platforms, according to the University of Melbourne and KPMG study.
However, some workers might not want to adopt AI because they believe the technology will negatively affect their jobs, including potentially replacing them.
"There is a lot of anxiety around it, and that probably doesn't help [with the skills] gap," said Isabella Loaiza, a postdoctoral researcher at the MIT Sloan School of Management in Cambridge, Mass.
In addition, the fact that some companies are still identifying their overall AI-related goals can complicate AI employee training further.
"I’m hesitant to say [there is] too much of a gap because we don't even know which gap we're trying to close exactly," said Alexandra Levit, co-author of Deep Talent: How to Transform Your Organization and Empower Your Employees Through AI.
3 steps to help address the AI skills gap
However, for HR leaders looking to help their companies address employees' lack of AI skills, some steps can help kick off the process.
1. Emphasize the importance of critical thinking
Since AI can serve up erroneous or even hallucinatory responses, employees must learn to question its findings.
As people get more comfortable with technology tools, they tend to trust them more, said Jacqueline Carter, co-author of More Human: How the Power of AI Can Transform the Way You Lead.
This tendency can be especially risky in the workplace, where AI-generated errors can lead to a decrease in brand trust and even legal liability.
Employee AI training should emphasize the importance of employees' critical thinking skills so workers will know when they should double-check AI results, Carter said.
Employees must make sure they are carefully evaluating any AI conclusions.
"We just, for some reason, blindly trust whatever the bot spits out, and that's a mistake," Levit said.
In addition, the quality of employees' prompts for generative AI will influence the quality of the output.
Users must make the queries that they are inputting into these systems as clear as possible, Loaiza said.
2. Give individual departments freedom
While companies might encourage all employees to familiarize themselves with AI, departmental leaders will likely know best in terms of the specific AI skills their teams should gain.
Company leaders should empower teams to decide where and how AI is a good fit, Levit said.
"Prescrib[ing] how everyone's going to use it exactly is really something better left to the departmental lead," she said.
3. Examine the advantages and disadvantages of AI usage
HR leaders should work with other company leaders to determine the best use of AI at this point in time instead of forging ahead without planning.
Humans have a tendency to adopt new technology without fully considering its disadvantages, Carter said.
"It’s so important for us to hit the pause button and really think about how to [help] our people flourish in the age of AI as opposed to flounder," she said.
Carolyn Heinze is a Paris-based freelance writer. She covers several technology and business areas, including HR software and sustainability.
