Written by Andrea Bruneau

The World Economic Forum predicts 22% of jobs will be disrupted by 2030, while 170 million new roles emerge—driven by AI and other tech advances. These changes are already happening across disciplines:

Writer’s new AI HQ platform can initiate creative briefs, manage workflows, and generate legally reviewed marketing materials—all without human coordination.
Amazon is building 1,000+ generative AI across retail, cloud, and customer experience, with employees expected to use and shape them in daily workflows.

These shifts require new—and often still undefined—skills. Without support, employees won’t be prepared. Bank of America’s internal AI assistant “Erica” now automates HR, payroll, and IT questions at scale, yet the company had to invest heavily in training just to ensure staff could use the technology—let alone leverage it strategically.

63% of companies cite skill gaps as the leading barrier to transformation through 2030. In response, 85% plan to prioritize upskilling while others will hire for new skills; 40% will reduce roles with outdated skills, while 50% aim to redeploy talent into emerging roles.

Employee-Centered Upskilling Strategies for an AI-Transformed Workplace:

This is more than a technological shift—it’s a workforce transformation. It demands a new approach to learning that is continuous, embedded, and employee-driven. This yields mutual benefits—keeping organizations agile and innovative, while equipping employees with the skills they need to grow and stay competitive.

Strategy 1: Treat Content Consumption as Professional Development

Normalize staying informed as a core professional habit. Accessing blogs or podcasts on emerging tech is not a hobby or waste of time. Knowing what is up and coming in the field will demystify AI, generate excitement, and limit resistance to change.

In Practice:

Curate field-specific resources (blogs, podcasts); allow work time for research.
Hold recurring workshops (“Tech Radar Tues”) for staff to share tools or trends.
Rotate employee-led updates to foster engagement and ownership.
Use Slack, Teams, or email threads to share new tools in real time.

Strategy 2. Create Safe Spaces to Experiment and Fail

Learning thrives in psychologically safe environments. As employees discover new tools, encourage exploration without fear of mistakes—this builds adaptability, sparks creativity, and surfaces ideas from those closest to the work.

In Practice:

Invite new workflow suggestions and AI-generated work for open feedback.
Celebrate lessons learned from failed experiments.
Run short pilots with staff to test tools, gather feedback, and co-create solutions.

Strategy 3. Deliver Strategic Role-Based Material

Upskilling must be targeted, relevant, and timely—aligned with evolving job tasks. With so many AI tools, overwhelm and lack of focus are easy pitfalls. New tool rollouts should offer curated, role-specific content that clearly links to daily workflows.

In Practice:

Audit workflows for tasks that could be automated or supported by AI tools.
Create role-based learning tracks with specific use cases.
Offer workflow-specific toolkits (resume screening, customer sentiment analysis)
Invite employees to co-create content and share discoveries.

Strategy 4. Provide Just-in-Time and On-the-Job Training

Ditch the three-hour training. Upskilling works best within the flow of work—through quick, modular resources that enable real-time learning without disrupting productivity.

In Practice:

Provide on-demand content that can be completed between tasks.
Pair staff with AI mentors who can help them apply tools in real scenarios.
Offer quick walkthroughs and case studies to show applied learning.
Embed pop-ups or micro-demos within platforms employees already use.

Final Thought: Learning Is the Job

In an AI-transformed workplace, standing still means falling behind. When employees are given resources, time, and trust to learn and experiment, they become your most valuable resource for AI integration.

This blog is part of our series, Bridging the Gap from Training Room to Workplace, tackling the biggest challenges to turning learning into lasting impact.

The DMC Workforce Success Team has more than 20 years combined experience and provides sustainable solutions to the complex social issues that affect large, medium or small businesses. Building authentic relationships is at the heart of DMC’s work, developing trust and honesty with employees to get to the root of issues and include them in the design of solutions.