Member Article

Half of UK workers want AI lessons – but only 7% have had the training

Almost half of workers (48 per cent) think artificial intelligenvce (AI) will improve their career and promotion prospects according to new research from Randstad UK.

But only 7 per cent of of the 1,500 UK employees polled by the HR giant said they had been offered any AI training in the last year.

Employees in the UK rank AI (19 per cent) as the 4th most important skill set for development, behind leadership skills (25 per cent); wellbeing and mindfulness (23 per cent); and coaching and mentoring (20 per cent). While employees clearly appreciate how AI skills could boost their career prospects, there’s a gap between the training they want and the training they receive.

Three in every ten (30 per cent) of those surveyed reported they received no learning and development opportunities in the last year. But blue-collar workers faired worse with 43 per cent getting no training whatsover in the previous 12-months.

The research shows that Gen Z workers value learning and development (17 per cent) more highly than their organisation’s culture (16 per cent) – while remuneration still remains of primary importance. And a third of those born 1997 and 2012 (33 per cent) say they would quit a job if they were not offered learning and development opportunities in the next twelve months, more than double the number of baby boomers (12 per cent)

Victoria Short, Randstad’s UK chief executive, said: “More employers are seeking workers with AI skills – our international analysis shows a 2000 per cent uptick in job ads including this since [spring the spring of 2023]. AI is increasingly impacting… performance in the workplace. But the imbalance between skills demanded by businesses and those desired by employees, on the one hand, and the training opportunities provided, on the other, has to be addressed.

“AI is here to stay and the benefits of it are very clear. Our data shows that employees stand ready to embrace it for their own gain, too. Successful organisations will… leverage that.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Raoul Duke .