Dive Brief:
- Although artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the way companies do business, 53% of employers said their main challenge was finding graduates with the right AI skills, according to new research from Pearson and Amazon Web Services, released Monday.
- The report found that 78% of higher education leaders said they believed they were meeting employer expectations, but only 28% of employers said universities were keeping up with AI‑driven change.
- Meanwhile, a scant 14% of current graduates said they had achieved a high level of proficiency when it came to applying AI tools in a professional setting. Although 64% said they frequently used AI for core academics, only 34% said they felt confident that their use was compliant with institutional policies.
Dive Insight:
AI is changing entry‑level roles amid a rapid decrease in the durability of skills, leaving workforce readiness at risk, the report found. The report was based on more than 2,700 survey responses from learners, higher education leaders and employers in the U.S., U.K., Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam and Malaysia.
A survey from General Assembly last year found that 83% of workers believed AI could perform most entry-level jobs as well as a person could. At the same time, some employers are using AI to replace workers instead of retraining them, with 31% of business leaders reporting that their organizations considered AI solutions before hiring for the role, according to a 2025 report from the British Standards Institution.
However, although AI adoption is increasing, “AI readiness is breaking down at the point of execution, where learning must translate into applied workplace capability, rather than from a lack of ambition or access,” per the report.
Tom ap Simon, president of higher education and virtual learning at Pearson, said in a statement that it was clear that basic AI literacy was no longer sufficient.
“Schools that lead in AI readiness today will shape the future of workforce readiness tomorrow,” he said. “Building an AI-ready workforce depends on structured, shared systems that amplify human skills and connect curriculum to real work.”
In order to help companies bridge the gap between today’s learners and tomorrow’s workforce, the report suggested an AI Readiness Friction Framework, a guide for identifying and solving some of the problems that hinder progress along the education‑to‑work pipeline. It highlighted key friction points, including pace, governance and experience, among others.