Why your organisation needs AI upskilling
With AI reshaping the global workforce, the leaders who take workforce transformation as seriously as they take technology transformation will be the ones to unleash human potential. AI upskilling sits at the intersection of these forces, presenting an opportunity for career enhancement while driving productivity.
According to the latest ServiceNow Workforce Skills Forecast, “by 2030, eight out of the 10 countries studied will have more work than people to do it.” These gaps will be only partially offset by AI-powered automation and augmentation. To close the gaps, all organisations will need to redesign roles and upskill workers.
By 2030, more than 1.6 million roles will be impacted by agentic AI in the UK alone, our research found. Employees in these positions will need the skills to work effectively alongside AI agents to stay relevant and productive in the AI era.
Leaders who invest in AI upskilling will prepare their employees to collaborate with AI agents effectively and achieve business goals. Let’s explore the role learning and development (L&D) programmes play in aiding this transformation.
Agentic AI is transforming work
As AI adoption grows, agentic AI will increasingly handle repetitive and process-driven work. At the same time, as more of the workforce engages with AI agents, new roles will emerge.
Our research shows there will be significant growth in tech jobs across all countries. In the UK, the total workforce is projected to expand by 2.8% by 2030. This figure is overshadowed by a predicted boom in tech jobs, forecast to grow by 39.5% in the same period. That means leaders will need to begin targeted reskilling for these emerging roles now.
People previously handling repetitive tasks can be upskilled to train AI models, support governance, and implement responsible AI across the organisation. Employees can also learn new skills to complement AI, augmenting and improving their current roles.
Future growth will be underpinned by workers’ AI skills. In 15 to 20 years, today’s workforce entrants will be leading organisations. They need opportunities to learn on the job—even as those jobs evolve.
The approach to L&D needs to evolve too. In the context of AI, static programmes such as 30-, 60-, and 90-day onboarding cycles; online courses; and mandatory compliance training are outdated. There must be a focus on personalised learning pathways for employees, centred on AI, to help them adapt to new roles.
Today’s speed of change requires agile L&D that reimagines the traditional approach. Leaders looking to upskill their teams must hold tightly to what’s important: human capabilities.
The human renaissance is coming
AI upskilling will help unleash a “human renaissance,” where people and AI collaborate, with human work taking centre stage. This human renaissance starts in education. Educational reform is needed to instil AI literacy as early as possible.
Graduates and school-leavers should enter the workforce with a clear view of how they can use AI to deliver value. People early in their careers can then hit the ground running with AI skills that augment human capabilities.
In the workplace, AI upskilling programmes equip employees to work effectively with AI. In practice, this is about creating intentional L&D initiatives to grow employee skills in workforce transformation, not just technology.
When looking through the lens of a wider transformation, it’s about understanding how L&D fits into the picture. At ServiceNow, we encourage leaders to use a five-step model of change for their organisations, assessing:
- Structures: Hierarchy, reporting relationships, roles, and decision-making processes, to understand how information flows through the organisation
- Systems: Technology, workflows, policies, and procedures, as changing systems may require shifts in behaviours and skills
- Skills: Knowledge, abilities, and behaviours required to perform effectively under any new initiatives
- Symbols: Culture, such as logos and language, showing value and identity
- Stories: The narrative shared by the organisation, influencing how employees interpret and understand their roles
By considering transformation through each step, you can identify areas for improvement and plan for successful change in your organisation, supported by L&D programmes.
Transforming the future starts today
ServiceNow University provides the ServiceNow ecosystem—employees, customers, and partners—with a safe space to experiment with and learn AI. Learners can access an on-demand, comprehensive curriculum to help them build and grow skills based on their individual background, needs, and goals.
In the AI era, workforce transformation is just as important as technology transformation—the two are co-dependent for success. When the next generation enters the workforce, I want them to be shocked at how the world used to work. The opportunity is here to transform the future with AI upskilling.
Find out more about how ServiceNow can help you upskill for AI.