43% of full-time and 43% of part-time employees said they are concerned about being replaced in the near future by employees with more advanced AI skills.

These results comes in a recent survey, which was conducted on behalf of D2L, asked 3,000 employees in the United States, both part-time and full-time, about their usage of artificial intelligence (AI) and their feelings about PD courses. 

The research found that more than half (52%) of Generation Z (the youngest generation of employees) and a majority (45%) of millennials (the newest generation of employees) are concerned that they will be replaced in the next year or two by employees with superior AI skills, while only a third (33%) of Generation X (the oldest generation) are concerned.

A large majority of respondents (40%) reported that their employers do not prioritise AI PD opportunities. 

A quarter (25%) of Gen Z and Gen X respondents plan to take between six and 10 AI PD courses over the next 12 months.

Almost a third (33%) said that previous AI PD courses did not have an impact on their career goals. 

The findings show that the speed of work and the demand for skills are changing rapidly. Disruptible skills, those that are fastest growing and most widely used, such as the ability to leverage AI, cloud, or data analytics, are constantly evolving and adapting to meet the changing talent needs of companies and organizations.

D2L explains that to avoid skills gaps, businesses need to have an agile company learning strategy that is able to adjust to changing needs.

“The same way that an organization wouldn’t hire someone who couldn’t use Google Search in two years, if someone can’t use technology to increase their productivity, we won’t hire them because that’ll be as basic as Microsoft Office,” said Chike Aguh, senior advisor at The Project on Workforce at Harvard University.

According to the D2L survey, 60% of employees want more frequent use of AI tools to improve their productivity in the workplace over the next year.

The firm explains that it is clear that workers want to learn more in this area, which means there is a need for more practical learning but also an opportunity for the business to invest in this emerging field.