Upskilling needed to increase AI Adoption

The results show significant differences between groups of employees in their attitudes toward AI. Younger employees report using AI more often than their older colleagues. Moreover, managers appear to be more enthusiastic than those they supervise.

Based on the research, PwC experts Lynn Bui, Bas van de Pas, and Elieke Vastenhouw share the following conclusions and recommendations:

• Although the potential of AI is not equally great in every sector, there is room to increase the adoption of (Gen)AI. The responsibility to bring the organisation along lies with senior and middle management, who, compared to the overall group, are positive about AI and use it more than the average employee. This is positive, but they must transfer this enthusiasm to employees so that they also embrace it.
• Adoption is linked to learning new skills. Only one-third of all employees are very satisfied with the new skills they have learned in the past twelve months. This means that two-thirds are less or not satisfied. Also, considering the requirements of the EU AI Act, this is a direct call to organisations to do more on AI upskilling.
• Adoption is also about addressing the fears of employees who are worried about losing their jobs.  AI deeply impacts work and work processes; it changes the content and tasks. This requires a change approach focused on employees’ mindsets so that they embrace AI rather than merely tolerate it. If employees do not adopt AI and do not apply new skills in their daily work, organisations will not recoup their investments.
• There is no one-size-fits-all approach for all four generations in the workplace. Therefore, AI adoption must be tailored to individual employees. While there is clearly less enthusiasm among older generations, age is not the only meaningful distinction. It is better to look at attitudes toward AI and the level of curiosity. The right interventions should be determined per group, and organisations should monitor the effectiveness of these interventions to adjust as needed.

Use of AI: a minority of employees have used AI at work

Of Dutch employees, 44 percent used AI at work in the past twelve months; thus, the majority did not. The older the employee, the lower the usage. When comparing Dutch AI usage (44 percent) to global usage (55 percent), it is notable that the Netherlands is somewhat more reserved than the rest of the world. This was also evident in last year’s results.

Sentiment About AI: positive emotions prevail

We see the same trend as with the use of GenAI: younger generations and (top) managers are more enthusiastic and curious about the impact of GenAI on their work than older generations and non-management. What stands out across all employee groups is that positivity prevails. Employees who are worried are clearly in the minority.

Lynn Bui: 'Young people, compared to other age groups, are more enthusiastic but also more worried and confused about the possible influence of AI on their work. That’s good, because all these emotions stimulate the use and exploration of possibilities. 

Bas van de Pas: 'Looking at older employees, I see less concern but also less enthusiasm than with GenZ and millennials. Perhaps this group believes their specialized knowledge and experience cannot be automated, but that might turn out differently. It could also be an attitude of "it will be after my time”. Organisations need to address this, as developments are moving so fast that it won’t be after their time.' 

Elieke Vastenhouw: 'This outcome shows that you can use young people to stimulate the use of AI in the organisation. Think of sessions where younger and older employees learn from each other.'

The benefits of AI: more productive, creative, and higher quality

Looking at the overall results, a majority sees productivity, creativity, and work quality increase due to AI use. For every group, the perceived benefits of AI are quite high. Only for the near future are expectations more modest.

Van de Pas: 'It’s not surprising that expectations about the future benefits of AI are somewhat more modest. Employees are currently mainly using tools like ChatGPT and Copilot. These are very handy tools that you mainly use individually and that really make you more efficient. If you use them, you’ve already achieved that efficiency, so future expectations are lower. The real productivity gains of GenAI however, lie in the development of agentic workflows that automate not just individual tasks, but entire processes or parts thereof. Most employees have no insight into this yet and therefore do not see its potential.'

Fewer entry-level jobs: keep thinking about workforce composition

Managers were asked about the impact of GenAI on entry-level jobs. Thirty-five percent believe the number of entry-level jobs in their organisation will decrease.

Vastenhouw: 'In practice, we also see that companies are more reserved in their hiring policies in specific areas. Work is changing, and companies are preparing for that. The total number of jobs will probably not change drastically, because AI will also create new jobs, but those are still emerging. This may be putting things on hold. I would advise organisations to think carefully about the composition of their workforce. If the number of entry-level jobs disappears, a portion of young people will disappear as well. Yet it is precisely this group that brings innovation.'

Bui: 'Entry-level jobs are disappearing due to AI, but new opportunities are also arising through technology and innovation. Organisations that invest in training and guidance for young people will be able to offer them perspective and thus retain talent. Especially because young people are uncertain about the future and the impact of AI on organisations, it is important to actively involve them in strategy and development.'

Use of AI types: GenAI tools more popular than AI agents

When looking specifically at GenAI applications, the use of ChatGPT is much more popular than AI Agents. 

Van de Pas: 'That’s makes sense, because you usually start by crawling before you walk. Using the chat function is a first step. Then you learn to prompt better, and you might reuse and share those prompts. The next step is building agents, but many people haven’t gotten to that yet, and this usage will increase significantly in the coming years.”

Upskilling: room for improvement, also with a view to the AI Act

Regarding training opportunities: about a third of employees seem very satisfied with access to training and the opportunities to acquire new skills. But should that be higher?

Van de Pas: 'About sixty percent are more or less satisfied with the opportunities to build knowledge. That’s good, but it also means forty percent are not. Because companies are responsible for employee training on AI under the EU AI Act, action is needed here.'