We are still in the early stages of the Artificial Intelligence revolution, which means many key questions remain unresolved. How will AI affect the world of work? Will automation replace human workers, or will AI augmentation make us more productive than ever? Most of all, everyone is asking what they should do right now to prepare for the AI future.
These questions are on the minds of employers and their employees equally. Business leaders are considering how to fill skills gaps within their current teams while also recruiting and retaining the talent needed for the years ahead. A recent study projects a 50% hiring gap for AI-related positions in 2025, and 86% of employers anticipate that AI will drive business transformation over the next five years.
Meanwhile, career development and upskilling are pressing concerns for employees, as 86% of workers say they'd consider changing jobs to seek out better professional development opportunities.
The good news is that these priorities complement each other. With the right strategy, employers can help their people develop future-proof careers, while also building teams that can deliver long-term success.
Matching career development plans to skills gaps in the age of AI
There has been a lot of speculation about whether Artificial Intelligence will replace certain jobs. However, previous waves of digital transformation have shown us that this isn't exactly how a new technology affects the workplace. New technology can help perform certain types of tasks very well, but that then creates a new demand for complementary human skills.
The same is true of AI. When you think of the individual tasks and duties that make up a person's job, there are three main ways that AI can have an effect:
- Automation: AI handles certain tasks end-to-end, with people responsible for organization and quality assurance
- Augmentation: AI acts as a tool that allows people to work faster and smarter
- Minimal impact: People continue to perform the task as before, without assistance from AI
In each scenario, employers still need a team of skilled people, although those skills may change. For example, an admin who spends hours compiling spreadsheets might be able to automate those tasks with AI. This gives the admin more time for more high-value work, which then requires a different set of skills, such as problem-solving, communication, and critical thinking.
This delivers productivity gains for the company, and it benefits the employee as well. Studies show tangible benefits from working with AI, such as increased earnings, improved wellbeing, and stronger career prospects.
The challenge now is to develop a people strategy that takes advantage of AI while allowing people to thrive. Here's how to get started.
6 steps towards skills-first talent management
Building a workforce that can thrive alongside AI requires a focused approach to upskilling and supporting your team. These six steps will help you align your people strategy with both business needs and individual career aspirations.
1. Implement a solid change management framework
A meticulous change management process is vital when your organization is rethinking its approach to people, processes, or technology. Digital transformation can affect all three of these things at once, which makes it even more important to have a dedicated change management team.
Empathy and communication are crucial parts of change management, and they're also essential when helping your team to upskill. Proactive communication can help to allay a lot of doubts. This is especially important if your organization is adopting AI, because good communication can help turn AI resisters into AI champions.
Action item: Schedule town halls or team meetings specifically focused on AI transformation. Allow time for questions and concerns, and ensure leaders from different departments can share their perspectives on how AI will reshape work in their areas.
2. Build a comprehensive skills library
Before you can assess your workforce's capabilities, you need to define what skills and competencies matter for your organization. A skills library serves as your taxonomy, creating a common language that managers, employees, and HR can use when discussing development needs and career progression.
Start by identifying the skills and competencies that support your strategic objectives. If AI adoption is a priority, your library should include both technical capabilities (prompt engineering, data literacy) and the human capabilities that complement AI (critical thinking, ethical reasoning, change leadership). Don't limit yourself to what's needed today. Consider which capabilities will become more valuable as your business evolves.
Organize your library by proficiency levels so people can understand where they stand and what growth looks like. A five-level scale works well: foundational awareness, working knowledge, proficiency, advanced expertise, and recognized authority. This structure helps employees chart a clear development path and gives managers a framework for assessing team capabilities.
Action item: Convene representatives from key departments to build your initial skills library. Start with 30 to 50 critical skills and competencies, defining what each looks like at different proficiency levels. Make the library accessible to all employees so they can reference it when thinking about their own development.
3. Perform a skills audit
Around 63% of employers say that the skills gap is delaying business transformation, with many struggling to find suitable AI talent. However, technical skills are not the only skills that will be essential in the future. In fact, there's likely to be an increased demand in the coming years for uniquely human skills, such as leadership, flexibility, and critical thinking.
Now is a good time to assess all of the skills required to deliver your long-term strategy. It can also help to reassess your current job families and think about how team requirements might develop over the next few years.
Action item: Create a skills inventory for your top three to five job families. Identify which current skills will increase in importance, which will decrease, and which new skills you'll need to develop or hire for over the next 18-24 months.
4. Talk to individuals about career goals
Upskilling programs work best when the participants are excited to learn. This means drawing up a professional development plan for each individual that's based on their personal strengths, interests, and long-term career goals.
This works best as an ongoing process, rather than as part of an annual review. Empower leaders to have meaningful conversations about how individuals are progressing. As well as keeping your upskilling program on track, this approach will help leaders to maximize engagement and identify potential retention risks.
Action item: Train managers to conduct quarterly career development conversations. Provide them with a simple framework that covers current strengths, areas for growth, interests outside their current role, and specific skill-building goals for the next 90 days.
5. Upskill to maximize individual strengths
People learn in many different ways. Some benefit from classroom-based training; some benefit from one-to-one mentoring; others prefer to get hands-on experience. If possible, provide a multimodal approach to professional development, with a focus on developing the abilities required to fill your team's skills gaps.
Remember to look at developing all skills, not just technical or AI abilities. Individuals might benefit from other forms of development, such as management training, communication coaching, or opportunities to develop their problem-solving skills.
Action item: Launch a pilot upskilling program for one team or job family. Combine formal training with hands-on projects and peer learning. Track participation, skill development, and business impact over 90 days, then refine your approach based on what you learn.
6. Bring people along on the transformation journey
Your frontline employees understand your processes better than anyone else. They see the inefficiencies, the workarounds, and the opportunities for improvement that might not be visible from the executive level. Involving them in your AI transformation ensures you're building solutions that actually work in practice.
Create feedback channels that allow employees to share their observations about how AI tools are affecting their work. What's working well? What's creating new problems? Where are the unexpected opportunities? This feedback helps you refine your implementation and build processes that enhance rather than hinder productivity. It also gives employees agency in shaping their work environment.
Action item: Establish a cross-functional AI advisory group that includes frontline employees, not just managers and executives. Meet monthly to review implementation challenges, share success stories, and identify opportunities to improve how your organization is adopting AI.
Build competitive advantage through people-first AI adoption
The AI skills gap represents both a challenge and an opportunity. Organizations that invest in comprehensive career development today will build a decisive advantage over competitors who treat upskilling as an afterthought. Your employees want to grow and develop. They're willing to learn new skills and adapt to new technologies. What they need is a clear path forward and the support to get there.
Helios HR can help you develop and implement a comprehensive talent strategy for the AI era:
- Strategic HR to align people initiatives with business transformation goals
- Training and development programs tailored to your organization's skills gaps
- AI consulting to help you navigate the workforce implications of AI adoption
- HR consulting to build systems that support continuous learning
- Talent acquisition consulting to attract candidates with future-ready skills
Ready to close your skills gap while supporting your employees' career growth? Connect with Helios HR to design a talent strategy that prepares your organization for long-term success in an AI-driven economy.
