One global survey in 2025 showed up some gaps between employers’ and workers’ perceptions of AI training adequacy.

Based on an October 2025,survey of 27,062 workers aged 18–67* and 1,225 C-suite and senior talent leaders employed at global and regional organizations across 35 markets^ on trends in AI adoption, workforce skills, and training investments, a firm specializing in digital talent and technology workforce solutions shared some findings on employer actions and worker perceptions with IT news media.

First, 63% of surveyed employers indicated they had invested in AI training during the last 12 months, with regional variations^ as follows: 66% in North American markets polled, 64% in APAC markets polled, 63% in Eastern Europe markets polled, 62% in Latin America markets polled, 61% in Southern Europe markets polled, and 61% in North-Western Europe markets polled.

Second, 74% of surveyed professionals indicated they needed to upgrade their AI skills to remain relevant in the job market, with higher rates in emerging markets such as those in the survey’s list of APAC (73%), Latin America (70%) and North America (58%) markets.

Other findings

Third, 52% of surveyed employees indicated they had independently sought outside training opportunities. Also:

  • 23% of surveyed global talent indicated they had exited roles due to limited access to future-ready learning opportunities, with rates of 30% in markets from North-Western Europe, 27% in those from Eastern Europe, 26% in those from APAC, 24% in respondents from North America, 24% in Southern Europe respondents, and 24% in Latin America respondents.
  • Demand for AI-related skills in job postings had surged by 1,587% over data used for 2024, based on the firm’s own market intelligence sources.
  • 87% of surveyed employers indicated they valued skills and experience over formal qualifications when hiring talent.
  • 50% of Indian employers reported offering AI training.
  • Over 30% of surveyed organizations indicated plans to reduce graduate hiring as AI adoption increased.
  • 21% of surveyed workers indicated they believed AI would have zero impact on their current job tasks.
  • Sector-specific findings included 59% of IT services and telecom respondents nominating AI as a top training need, compared to 42% in professional services, 38% in financial services, 33% in manufacturing, 33% in healthcare, and 29% in transport and logistics.
  • Generational responses on upskilling urgency showed 69% for Millennials (ages 29–44), 66% for Gen X (45–60), 63% for Gen Z (18–28), and 62% for Baby Boomers (60+).

Milind Shah, Managing Director, Randstad Digital, the firm that commissioned the survey, opined that, “when organizations increase the velocity of tools without building the capability to use them effectively, it can create complexity rather than value.”

*respondents who had been employed at least 24 hours per week, or those who were sole traders, or had been unemployed but considering work opportunities

^including Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong SAR, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye, the UK, the US, and Uruguay.

#Additional methodology details: Per-market sample sizes ranged from 250 to 1,750 interviews for workers (totaling 27,062) and 20 to 55 interviews for employers (totaling 1,225). Worker surveys ran from October 10–28, 2025; employer surveys from October 9–30, 2025. Secondary insights came from over 3 million global job postings compiled by the firm. No specific question wordings were disclosed in the materials. All findings reflect self-reported responsesat the time of the survey.