Why hands-on digital skills will define the value of AI
Discussions about artificial intelligence (AI) often focus on concerns around job losses and machines taking on tasks traditionally done by humans.
But there is an equally significant and far more immediate challenge that urgently needs to be addressed within the workforce: an ongoing shortage of digital skills.
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UK&I Managing Director at Cognizant.
This problem is already affecting businesses today, and the labor market has responded accordingly, with roles requiring AI and data capabilities commanding a premium because of the scarcity of these skills.
AI is reshaping work itself
AI is altering how work is organized. Traditional departmental boundaries are becoming less rigid. AI tools can help identify and assemble the right workers for a task, regardless of where that expertise sits formally.
By absorbing much of the logistical and administrative burden, AI allows people to focus more on outcomes rather than process. This is not a marginal change. Recent research suggests that 93% of jobs could be impacted by AI in some way, helping to explain why shifts in how work is organized are emerging so rapidly.
As this change takes place there is a common misconception that AI is replacing junior roles. In reality, as AI tools scale, they create new opportunities for early-career professionals to contribute. Generative AI lowers technical barriers, allowing junior talent to engage with AI and other advanced technologies.
The skills needed now are increasingly about adaptability, cross-functional thinking and problem-solving, rather than deep legacy technical knowledge. These roles allow juniors to contribute to higher-level work earlier, while gaining practical experience, building judgement, and developing resilience, all of which strengthens organizational capability.
This does not eliminate the value of expertise. Instead, it changes how it is used. Experienced professionals can focus on higher-value work, while those earlier in their careers can take on responsibility sooner. It is not a universal solution, but in environments where speed and creativity matter, this flatter, more networked model represents a genuine shift in how organizations function.
Access to these opportunities, however, remains uneven. Smaller firms and more traditional sectors risk falling behind, while better-resourced organizations pull further ahead. Collaboration and efforts between industry, education providers and the public sector are beginning to address this imbalance, but progress is unequal. Left unchecked, the result will be a deepening digital divide.
The accelerating digital skills gap
Formal education and corporate training are simply not keeping pace with how fast technology is changing. These systems typically operate in multi-year or set annual cycles, but digital technologies evolve far more quickly.
As a result, skills can become outdated before they are properly applied in the workplace, while job descriptions frequently lag behind the realities of modern work. This means many organizations invest heavily in new technologies but lack the human capability required to deploy them effectively. Unsurprisingly, the expected returns on these investments often fail to materialize.
The consequences are significant. Without deliberate intervention, the skills gap will continue to widen and reinforce existing inequalities. In the UK alone, the shortage of digital talent could cost the economy £27.6 billion and put 380,000 jobs at risk by 2030.
Basic digital skills are associated with higher wages, while broader skill portfolios offer even greater returns. In the US, research indicates that mastering a single digital skill can boost an employee’s earnings by 23%, while three or more skills can increase wages by roughly 45%.
Digital skills have become an important factor in job security and long-term financial stability, reinforcing the need for accessible and inclusive upskilling opportunities.
Practical approaches to developing digital skills
Despite this, skills development is still frequently treated as an individual responsibility. Workers are expected to retrain themselves, often outside working hours and at their own expense. This approach is increasingly untenable. Digital skills are now central to how organizations perform, and the responsibility for developing them cannot rest solely with the individual.
Organizations also need to rethink how learning works. Development courses are often framed as check box style processes with certificates to collect. In practice, people learn most effectively by doing. As such, employees should be given opportunity to participate in immersive, practical experiences.
Formal training has value, but alone it rarely equips people with the confidence or judgement needed for real-world application. Capability develops through use, by working with real tools, tackling real problems and building confidence over time.
Pilots, simulations or guided projects can help people develop judgement and adaptability skills alongside technical knowledge. Where organizations prioritize this kind of hands-on exposure, skills spread more quickly and more evenly, rather than remaining concentrated in specialist teams. Where they do not, gaps widen – particularly in smaller businesses and less digitized sectors – increasing the risk of a lasting digital divide.
Investing in talent and training also improves retention. Employees are more likely to stay with organizations that demonstrate commitment to their growth and development.
The choice ahead
The question for organizations is not whether to adopt AI, but how they invest around it. Technology alone will not deliver lasting value without the skills and confidence to use it effectively. Investment in systems must be matched by investment in hands-on digital capability across the workforce.
AI is already embedded in the economy, but its impact will depend on whether organizations prioritize practical skills development or allow gaps to widen further.
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