AI changes how we work. Now let’s change how we learn.
Emerging technologies are disrupting every workforce in every industry, fuelling demand for AI skills that are already at a premium. While this poses a challenge for organisations, it also provides a great opportunity.
Research reported in Harvard Business Review shows how leading companies are building competitive advantage by developing AI-savvy talent that would otherwise be hard to find in the open market.
These findings dovetail with the 2024 Workforce Skills Forecast by ServiceNow and Pearson, which highlights the impact of AI on recruitment and reskilling. One key message: With accelerated AI adoption, the demand for tech workers is set to surge.
By 2028, an additional 1 million workers will be needed in the U.S. to implement and maintain emerging technologies. The UK will need 610,000 workers.
An urgent need to develop new skills
All this points to an urgent need for organisations to help their employees develop the skills to survive and thrive in a world transformed by AI. It’s a key focus for the learning and development team at ServiceNow, where we’re harnessing generative AI (GenAI) to provide our people—and our customers—with seamless, intuitive support.
It’s also a top priority for HR leaders in organisations worldwide. Our Employee Experience Trends 2024 report found that 55% of HR leaders believe half or more of their workforce is not equipped to help drive future growth.
Let’s explore the huge potential GenAI can bring to learning and development—and skilling.
Giving everyone the skills to succeed
As highlighted by the World Economic Forum, the pace of innovation is so rapid that the only way we can acquire the skills we need to keep up is to embed the power of AI in learning and development.
Doing that will help ensure workers have the skills they need to be fulfilled and successful. More broadly, organisations won’t be able to unlock the gains from AI unless they reskill their people.
Research from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) indicates that the lack of skills is one of the principal barriers to AI adoption. It’s clear that if organisations don’t develop the right AI skills, they won’t see efficiency gains hit the bottom line. Nor will they be able to redeploy people to roles that grow the top line.
AI is the skills challenge—and solution
The shift that’s already underway is bigger and more disruptive than anything most of us have experienced. We need to find ways to help people develop a mindset where they’re ready to learn new ways of working.
Unleashing people’s potential in this way should be at the heart of learning and development. If we don’t help people prepare, there’s a risk that AI will leave them on the sidelines of whatever comes next.
How do we make this happen? By harnessing the power of AI to transform learning and development into a playground for learning. One of the most important ways we’ll do this is through play. That’s how children learn. And we know that generative learning—where people are actively involved in the process—leads to better results.
AI can bring this collaborative learning approach to life. It will allow people to try, fail fast, and try again—without repercussions, enabling them to do ‘unsafe’ things in a safe environment.
Bespoke learning for all
Integrating AI into workflow and talent development products makes it possible to look at skills and aspirations and align learning to each individual in their development. Learning support is always on hand, personalised and available so that the most relevant interventions can occur at precisely the point of need.
The deep personalisation of AI can deliver bespoke learning pathways at scale, for everyone. Although we all share the same learning mechanisms, as Professor Stanislas Dehaene describes in his bestseller How We Learn,1 each of us has preferences regarding the learning process. Some of us prefer self-guided modules, whereas others thrive on conversations with peers.
AI could bring all this together so that everyone’s talent development profile evolves and adapts predictively. That would help ensure they get holistic support for their specific role and their unique journey.
Putting people at the centre of change
Technology is changing everything about how we live and work—at a faster pace than we ever imagined. But the human brain can’t adapt rapidly enough. That’s why learning and development must transform. With AI, it’s possible to make that happen.
Find out how ServiceNow helps people and organisations develop skills for an AI world.
1 Stanislas Dehaene, “How We Learn,” Viking: Jan. 28, 2020