Workforce Readiness
Submitted by Tiffani Ewing, SHRM-CP, HR Indiana SHRM Workforce Readiness Director
Train Employees to Close the AI Skills Gap
The meteoric rise of generative AI (GenAI) has created a vast need for reskilling across job roles and industries. A 2023 study also found that 64 percent of HR leaders said the rise of GenAI has changed the key in-demand skills needed in their organizations. More than half say AI literacy is a new must-have skill for employees in all roles. The reality is that many workers have yet to receive any substantive training in how the technology works, how it will change the way they perform their jobs and how to mitigate the still-significant risks of its use in the workplace. A 2023 survey found that while 86 percent of workers believed they would need training in AI, only 14 percent of front-line employees reported receiving any upskilling training. One segment of the workforce that stands to be significantly impacted by the growing use of GenAI is also a group that receives the least amount of training in using the technology. Front-line workers constitute about 70 percent of the U.S. workforce, yet most AI-related training is currently geared toward other employee populations, such as executives, engineers and data scientists. The 2023 study found that only 14 percent of front-line workers said they had received any AI-related upskilling to date, compared with 44 percent of leaders. Similarly, another study conducted last year found that only 1 in 10 workers had been offered any AI-specific training, despite a 2,000 percent growth in job postings requiring AI skills.
Organizations that are meeting the challenge of training their workforces in the use of GenAI are careful to calibrate the right mix of external and internal learning content so they can scale training while at the same time maintaining some agility to keep pace with the rapidly changing technology. Best practices also include dedicating considerable time to teaching the responsible and ethical use of GenAI. Organizations including LinkedIn, Harvard University, Meta and Walmart have created generative AI “playgrounds” to help employees learn about and master the technology. Playgrounds contain software, domain-specific data and policies that encourage technical as well as nontechnical workers to experiment with GenAI in a safe space. This arrangement avoids some of the risks involved when using external computer servers, such as leaking proprietary company data or violating copyright law. Microsoft and LinkedIn joined forces last year to offer a free AI skills training and certification program on LinkedIn’s platform. The initiative is designed to teach workers around the globe how to be fluent in AI, how to use GenAI to boost productivity and efficiency, and how to use the technology responsibly and ethically. The coursework is available for free through 2025.
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