Skills in the AI age

Artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as a transformative general-purpose technology, reshaping economies and societies in ways comparable to past industrial revolutions. By enhancing productivity, improving decision making and enabling innovation, AI holds significant potential to boost economic growth and improve working conditions. At the same time, its diffusion raises concerns about labour market disruptions, widening inequalities and uneven access to opportunities. In this context, ensuring that individuals and economies are equipped with the right skills is critical to harness AI’s benefits while managing its risks.

AI adoption by firms has accelerated rapidly in recent years, driven in part by the emergence of generative AI tools. Businesses increasingly use AI technologies to automate routine tasks, optimise resource allocation and improve the quality of goods and services. These developments can raise productivity and create more engaging and higher-value work for employees. However, adoption remains uneven across firms, sectors and countries. Larger firms and younger, more innovative enterprises tend to lead in AI uptake, while small and medium-sized enterprises face barriers related to cost, infrastructure and skills shortages. Without targeted policy interventions, these disparities risk reinforcing existing productivity gaps and limiting the diffusion of AI benefits across the economy.

This paper first sheds light on the transformative impacts of AI on businesses, work and digital societies. It then outlines the skills needed to prosper in the AI age. Finally, it discusses the role of policies to help ensure that workers have the right mix of skills today and in the future.

AI adoption is accelerating, with differences across firms

• AI uptake is rising rapidly, increasing from around 7% to 20% of firms between 2021 and 2025 in OECD countries, driven in part by the diffusion of generative AI tools.

• Larger firms and start-ups are more likely to adopt AI due to greater financial resources and innovation capacity, respectively.

• Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face persistent barriers to AI uptake, including costs, lack of infrastructure and shortages of skilled workers.

• Skills shortages are a key constraint on AI diffusion, ranked among the top barriers to adoption by firms.

AI is transforming jobs, but not necessarily destroying them

• AI affects labour markets through three main channels: i) automation of existing tasks, ii) creation of new tasks and occupations and iii) improving productivity. These effects coexist, and the net impact on employment depends on their relative balance.

• Evidence suggests AI often complements rather than substitutes human labour, contributing to productivity gains and job creation.

• However, job displacement remains a risk, particularly for workers in routine and repetitive roles.

Exposure to AI differs from risk of automation

• High-skill occupations are the most exposed to AI, including managers, professionals and engineers. However, these occupations are less likely to be automated, as they rely on non-routine cognitive and social skills.

• In contrast, low- and middle-skill jobs face higher automation risks, particularly in sectors involving routine manual or cognitive tasks.

• In 2022-2024, around one-quarter of workers were already exposed to generative AI, and this share is expected to grow significantly.

Individuals need a wide range of skills to thrive in digital societies

• Foundational skills (literacy, numeracy, scientific knowledge) enable all people to participate in a digital economy and society.

• Information and communication technologies (ICT) skills (basic to advanced technical competencies) help workers meet evolving job requirements and thrive in the digital age. Advanced AI skills (e.g. machine learning, data science) are in high demand, but workers with such skills remain rare (around 1% of the workforce).

• Complementary skills such as critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration enable high-performance work practices and a strong ability to continue learning. They become increasingly important as they enable effective interaction with AI systems and adaptation to changing tasks.

Governments can help shape skills for the AI age

To make the most of benefits from AI technologies while mitigating the risks, governments must put into action agile policies that work in tandem as follows:

• Strengthen education and training systems by improving quality, equity and labour market relevance of education and integrating AI literacy, digital skills and critical thinking across curricula;

• Expand lifelong learning opportunities by promoting continuous upskilling and reskilling across the life course by developing flexible, modular and online training pathways and strengthening recognition of prior learning systems;

• Develop the ICT and AI talent pipeline by expanding formal education programmes in AI and digital fields, providing short, targeted reskilling programmes for adults and aligning training provision with evolving labour market needs;

• Promote AI literacy for all by equipping workers with basic skills to use, understand and critically assess AI and broadening access to AI learning beyond specialists;

• Encourage employer-led training by supporting firms through financial incentives, subsidies and co-financing schemes, fostering partnerships between employers and education providers and aligning workplace training with technological change; and

• Strengthen policy co‑ordination and partnerships by fostering collaboration between governments, industry and education systems and using labour market data and skills forecasting to guide policy.