Workers crave AI training to stay ahead of job market, study finds
Over half (52%) of employees would be interested in gaining new skills at their current workplace.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not just science fiction. It’s now part of the recruitment process as 67% of job seekers in the U.S. have seen AI technology used in the process. That’s according to Beamery’s latest Talent Index report that also says 49% of the current workforce have seen AI in their workplace and 76% are still not trained on the use of AI.
“More than half of today’s workforce seeks to develop new skills, yet few are given the opportunity or feel they are using their current skill sets to their full potential,” said Abakar Saidov, co-founder and CEO of Beamery. “Employers must recognize this critical tipping point and actively work to build a culture of learning and development. By taking advantage of the new tech paradigm AI provides, organizations can uncover the skills they have and need to better engage and retain talent.”
As AI becomes more prevalent in mainstream job functions, employers will need to invest in resources to provide employees with up- and reskilling courses the modern workforce will require. Over half (52%) of employees would be interested in gaining new skills at their current workplace, but of these respondents, 38% were not actively engaged in learning opportunities.
Among those interested in learning new skills, the top reasons were to challenge themselves (56%) and a desire to earn more money (50%) – outranking concerns of current skill sets becoming obsolete (21%).
There appears to be an even divide among workers in the U.S. planning to stay in their current job (46%) and those planning to leave (46%) over the next year. Of those employees who plan to stay with their organization, they cite feeling appreciated (51%), positive culture (48%), and flexibility in terms of where they work (39%) as top reasons why.
Read more: Nearly half of CEOs believe their jobs should be replaced by AI
That said, 81% of U.S. employees are confident they could find a new job in the current environment, signalling to employers that not investing in employee development and engagement could result in talent loss.