Gen Z set to capitalize on A.I. skills gap as workers want to learn, but businesses aren’t teaching

As the debate about how A.I. will shape mankind’s future rages on, some tech experts have insisted the technology will coexist with workers rather than replace them, and even fuel a strong labor market by creating new jobs.

However, new research suggests that although the hype around A.I. is stimulating job growth all over the world, there is a “significant” skills gap that experts say employers must help fill.

In a report published Tuesday, recruitment giant Randstad found that while workers were generally more excited than concerned about A.I., only one in 10 had been offered training opportunities to prepare them for the technology.

Randstad surveyed 7,000 workers around the world, with participants based in five countries including the U.S., India and Britain.

Randstad’s data showed that since the beginning of this year, there had been a 20-fold increase in the number of job postings that required skills in generative A.I.—algorithms like OpenAI’s ChatGPT that can be used to create new content such as audio, text or code.

Globally, 53% of respondents said they expected A.I. to have an impact on their industry and job, with one in three saying they already used the technology in their day-to-day roles.

However, of those who took part in the company’s poll, only 13% said they had been offered some form of artificial intelligence training in the last year—even as more than half said they believed having A.I. skills would “future proof” their careers by improving both their promotion prospects of being promoted.

In the U.S., 42% of workers said they were excited about the prospect of A.I. in the workplace, while 37% said they were worried about the impact the technology would have on their job.

But fewer than one in three American workers said they were already using A.I. in their jobs—ranking the country lower than India in Australia when it came to A.I. adoption.

That was in spite of half the U.S. workers polled saying A.I. would shape both their job and the sector they worked in.

Randstad did not specify particular programs or technologies when it asked workers about their use of artificial intelligence.

Gen Z demands training

Employers could also be losing out on top Gen Z talent by failing to offer A.I. training to their workforces, the survey findings suggested.

One in five workers told Randstad they wanted to be offered A.I. training within the next 12 months, with a third of Gen Z employees saying they wanted to be trained on the tech over the next year.

According to the poll’s results, around one in five Gen Z workers ranked learning and development opportunities as the biggest non-financial motivator at work, with almost half of the Gen Z workers who took part in the survey saying they would quit their job if they weren’t offered any learning and development opportunities within a year.

Do businesses have a responsibility to ‘help create the talent of the future’?

Randstad CEO Sander van ‘t Noordende told Fortune the company’s survey showed people with the right skills for the A.I. jobs boom were already in short supply—and the gap was only set to widen.

“Businesses must recognize their role in helping create the talent of the future, instead of simply waiting to find the right people on the market,” he said. “Training and development not only helps future proof the workforce, it’s also an incentive for people to stay with the company.” 

Van ‘t Noordende also argued that while reducing the A.I. skills gap “will be no easy feat,” employers could not rely solely on the next generation of workers entering the talent pool.

“The rate at which [the gap is narrowed] will be largely dependent on the willingness of employers to commit to upskilling their talent,” he added.

Karoli Hindriks, CEO and co-founder of employee relocation company Jobbatical, also told Fortune that employers across all industries would benefit from investing in A.I. training for employees at all levels in their business.

“There’s been a lot of talk about the risks of A.I. and the threat to jobs—upskilling is the best way to ensure A.I. can be an opportunity and not a threat,” she said. “Not only that, but there are serious efficiencies to be made from using A.I. for things like time-intensive, low value tasks. These are efficiencies that all businesses can benefit from.”

Dr. Martin Mulyadi, an accounting professor at Shenandoah University School of Business, agreed that there was a “significant” skills gap when it came to A.I. proficiency, which would continue to grow thanks to tools like ChatGPT and Google’s chatbot Bard becoming standard across industries.

However, he noted that becoming proficient in A.I. was about more than simply learning to operate a chatbot.

“Importantly, A.I. literacy involves understanding its capabilities and limitations in addition to its operation,” he said. “It is not merely a matter of utilizing A.I., but of doing so effectively and ethically. A.I. is not a job-killer but rather a tool that can enhance our capabilities, in my opinion. Consequently, those who can demonstrate this level of comprehensive literacy will be in high demand, which could contribute to higher salaries and better employment prospects.”

Some A.I. jobs already pay six figures, as employers compete for top talent in the fledgling industry.

Gen Z’s ‘undeniable’ advantage

Mulyadi also said that thanks the lingering talent gap would present Gen Z workers with an edge when it comes to job hunting.

“Undeniably, Gen Z appears to have a significant advantage,” he said. “Growing up in the digital age makes them more receptive to technological innovations, such as A.I.”

However, he noted that young people starting out their careers must take it upon themselves to ensure they can fill the A.I. skills gap.

“Tech savvy is not synonymous with A.I. literacy,” he pointed out. “Formal training that concentrates not only on upskilling but also on understanding the ethical and practical limitations of A.I. will be of great benefit to Gen Z. Their inherent familiarity with technology, coupled with specialized training, will likely make them invaluable assets in any future workplace that seeks to leverage A.I. capabilities effectively.”