More than one third (32 per cent) of organisations admit AI adoption is stalling due to a skills shortage, leaving them behind in the increasing AI-driven workforce, according to a recent survey FDM Group.
These findings come from FDM Group’s whitepaper, Workforce 2.0: AI Adoption and the Future of Jobs, in which the global tech talent consultancy surveyed over 300 clients across the UK, North America, EMEA, and APAC. The survey provides insights into AI adoption, workforce readiness, and early-career roles.
Currently, over half (53 percent) of organisations are beginning to explore AI, with just 2 percent having fully embedded it in operations.
Despite the growing role of AI, 58 percent of organisations report that their teams have only limited or early-stage AI proficiency, while just 6 percent have high-level expertise. This capability gap between organisations’ AI ambitions and their in-house skills for AI integration exists creating an AI black hole.
Sheila Flavell, CBE, COO of FDM Group commented: “AI has the potential to transform the way we work, however, without the right skills, organisations will fail to leverage AI’s full potential. One third of enterprises are already facing an AI roadblock, where the ambition to adopt AI is there, but the workforce readiness to deliver on that ambition is not.
We must not only look at how AI will transform the workplace over the next year, but in the next decade, where businesses that don’t hire or train AI-skilled staff now risk being left behind entirely.
Our research shows that the biggest challenge organisations face is keeping skills relevant in such a rapidly evolving landscape, which makes continuous upskilling and development essential. By equipping teams with the expertise they need, organisations can close this capability gap and ensure they remain competitive in an increasingly AI-driven world.”
AI adoption is becoming increasingly embedded across job roles such as IT support and helpdesk seeing the highest influence (40 percent), alongside customer service (23 percent) and sales (10 percent). Other departments such as HR, finance, marketing, and legal are also being affected by AI.
On top of this, leading sectors are increasingly leveraging AI, including the UK public sector, banking, insurance, education, retail, and energy, demonstrating that organisations across industries are increasingly integrating AI tools into their operations.
