85% prioritise AI upskilling
- A report says 85% of organisations now plan to prioritise AI upskilling to build internal capability rather than rely on outside hires. (techmonitor.ai) - Analysts argue enterprises need dynamic, skill-based platforms to train workers for agent and AI deployments. (verdict.co.uk) - Market forecasts and IT spending growth are cited alongside upskilling as firms invest in AI infrastructure and agent tooling. (newkerala.com)
Companies are shifting AI hiring plans inward: 85% now say they will prioritize upskilling existing workers instead of relying mainly on outside recruits. (techmonitor.ai) That figure appeared in an April 22, 2026 opinion article in TechMonitor, which argued that internal training plans are colliding with old human resources and IT systems built around fixed job titles rather than changing skills. (techmonitor.ai) Verdict published the same argument on April 22, saying companies need “dynamic, skills-based platforms” that map what workers can do now, what AI tools change, and what training closes the gap for agent deployments. (verdict.co.uk) In plain terms, that means replacing static training catalogs with systems that track skills like a live inventory. When companies add AI agents — software that can complete tasks with limited supervision — managers need to know which employees can supervise, test, and improve them. (verdict.co.uk) The spending backdrop is moving in the same direction. Gartner said on April 22 that worldwide information technology spending is projected to reach $6.31 trillion in 2026, up 13.5% from 2025, with growth driven by AI infrastructure, software, and advanced memory. (gartner.com) That puts training in the middle of a larger build-out: companies are buying data-center capacity, cloud services, and AI software while also trying to prepare staff to use those tools in daily work. Gartner said data center systems will be the fastest-growing segment in 2026, rising 42.4%. (gartner.com) Large employers have been laying the groundwork for more than a year. Amazon Web Services and Access Partnership said in a U.S. study that they surveyed 3,297 workers and 1,340 organizations, finding broad expectations that AI skills will be needed across jobs, not only in technical teams. (aboutamazon.com) Consultants are also framing AI training as an organizational change project rather than a one-off course. McKinsey wrote in December 2025 that companies treating AI upskilling as a broader change effort are more likely to sustain adoption than those limiting training to tool demos. (mckinsey.com) The pressure is not only to teach prompting or model use. The newer requirement is to train workers to redesign workflows, check AI output, and manage the risks that come with handing routine tasks to software agents. (ibm.com) The bet behind the 85% figure is straightforward: if companies are going to spend trillions on AI systems, they also need employees who can run them, question them, and adapt as the tools keep changing. (techmonitor.ai)
