In today’s uncertain economy, organizations are under pressure to do more with less — and every employee’s output matters more than ever. Enterprises are racing to adopt AI technologies and train their workforces to keep pace. AI isn’t just another productivity tool; it’s a force multiplier for skills, innovation, and competitive advantage. But like any force multiplier, its impact depends on how it’s understood, implemented, and adopted across the organization.
The challenge? While executives and learning and development (L&D) leaders may believe they’re making steady progress on AI readiness, the employees expected to put these new tools into practice aren’t seeing the same reality. A Pew Research Center survey found that 52% of U.S. workers are worried about the future impact of AI in the workplace, with only 36% feeling hopeful. That disconnect can derail even the most ambitious transformation plans.
In our recent 2025 State of Skills Intelligence Report, Workera surveyed 800 L&D leaders and 800 employees from large enterprises across five countries. The data revealed a widening perception gap between executives and employees when it comes to AI initiatives. For business leaders, understanding that gap is crucial to closing it and moving forward.
Leaders are (Over)confident in their AI training efforts
From the executive suite to L&D teams, confidence in AI readiness is high. The overwhelming majority of L&D leaders (94%) say their skills initiatives are aligned with broader business goals, and 93% believe their organizations are investing enough in workforce skills to keep pace with AI adoption.
On paper, that sounds encouraging. Many companies view themselves as industry leaders in AI skills readiness, with four in five saying they’re ahead of the curve — and 37% claiming they’re leading their competitors by a wide margin.
But if you dig deeper, cracks begin to show. Only 32% of L&D respondents believe their current training programs are effectively closing verified skills gaps. When you ask employees for their view, the confidence drops off a cliff.
Employees aren’t seeing the same progress
While half of L&D leaders (51%) report that their organization has a fully defined, implemented AI adoption strategy, only 25% of employees say they’ve been offered AI-specific training in the past year. That disconnect matters: even the best strategy won’t drive results if the people responsible for executing it aren’t prepared or engaged.
The perception gap doesn’t stop at access to training. While 63% of L&D leaders believe their organization will be fully AI-ready within two years, only 22% of employees share that optimism. One in three employees (33%) actually think their company is off track in acquiring the AI skills it needs.
Communication is a major culprit. More than half of employees (57%) said leadership has done a poor job of articulating the organization’s AI strategy and goals, and just 10% said those messages have been communicated very well. Without clear direction and tangible opportunities to build AI skills, employees are left feeling adrift.
Strikingly, while 41% of leaders say AI skills are always prioritized in talent management decisions, just 4% of employees agree. When it comes to whether AI skills are even valued internally, 54% of employees say they’re not confident the skills they’ve developed are recognized or validated. Nearly half (47%) believe those skills have no meaningful impact — or worse, a negative one — on their career advancement.
That disconnect has real consequences. If employees don’t believe AI skills matter to their individual work or their future at the company — or feel the investment in upskilling is performative rather than practical — organizations will struggle to achieve the AI transformation they’re aiming for.
How enterprises can close the gap
To align AI ambitions with on-the-ground adoption, companies need to start with something simple, but often overlooked: trust. AI integration must be people-centric. Employees need to trust that the AI skills they acquire are being fairly recognized, accurately measured, and meaningfully rewarded.
Verified skills intelligence offers a way forward. Unlike legacy approaches that rely on self-reported surveys, course completions, or inferred signals, verified skills intelligence uses objective, validated assessments to precisely measure an individual’s proficiency in AI and other high-priority domains. It replaces guesswork with actionable, trustworthy data.
The appetite for this kind of solution is strong. Nearly every L&D leader surveyed (99%) said they’re open to incorporating verified skills intelligence into their talent strategy, with 45% very likely to adopt it. Leaders see the biggest benefits in enhanced data-driven decision-making, improved employee engagement, and stronger talent retention.
The landscapes for both AI and skills development are moving quickly. Up-to-date, verified skills data isn’t a nice-to-have – it’s a business imperative. It enables organizations to identify true capability gaps, prioritize high-impact learning initiatives, and communicate clearly to employees how their skills align with company goals and future opportunities.
When employees can see a direct connection between the skills they’re building and their career growth, engagement improves. And when leaders have reliable, validated data about workforce readiness, they can make smarter, faster decisions about how to invest in their people.
AI will continue to reshape how enterprises operate. But its potential depends on the people who use it — and right now, too many of them are operating without clear guidance, recognition, or confidence in their AI future. Closing the gap between leadership perception and employee experience isn’t just an HR issue; it’s a strategic one.
Verified skills intelligence is the starting point for creating alignment, rebuilding trust, and ensuring AI transformation efforts don’t stall out before they truly begin.
