If we don't upskill, the AI skills gap could cost adland £15bn a year

Like many parents, I often find myself wondering what the world of work will look like by the time my kids start their careers. With the way AI is reshaping so many industries, including ours, I find myself asking which jobs will exist, which skills will matter most, and what we should be teaching young people today to help them thrive tomorrow.

But the more time I've spent exploring the impact of AI on the workplace, the more I've come to believe we're asking the wrong question.

We spend a lot of time discussing how to prepare the next generation for the future. What we spend less time discussing is whether the rest of us are equally prepared for it.

That was one of the most striking findings from new research by Publicis Media UK and Kingston University London. While the study found that skills gaps are already costing the UK advertising and marketing industry £10.9bn a year, it also found that the productivity impact is significantly greater among senior professionals than junior colleagues.

At a time when we focus on preparing young people for the workplace of the future, the research suggests organisations should pay just as much attention to the development needs of those already leading them.

Learning can no longer flow in one direction

For most of my career, learning in organisations has followed a familiar pattern. Experienced professionals shared knowledge with younger colleagues, helping them learn the ropes and navigate the industry.

We've already had to rethink how people learn at work. As hybrid working became more common, we could no longer rely on knowledge being absorbed through day-to-day proximity alone and had to become more deliberate about sharing it.

That remains hugely important, but AI is beginning to change the dynamic.

Younger generations often arrive in the workplace feeling far more comfortable with AI than many of us who have spent years in the workforce, while more experienced colleagues bring the judgement, context and commercial understanding that only comes with time.

The organisations most likely to thrive will encourage learning both ways, combining the strengths of different generations and creating cultures where curiosity matters more than hierarchy.

Human skills are becoming more valuable, not less

The shift in learning matters because success with AI depends on far more than learning how to use the technology.

The research identified a set of skills that help people work effectively alongside AI, including asking better questions, providing context and applying judgement when deciding whether to trust or challenge an output.

What I find encouraging is that these are fundamentally human skills. They depend on curiosity, critical thinking, judgement and the ability to understand context.

As technology evolves, the ability to ask good questions, make sense of complexity and apply human judgement will only become more important.

That is why I believe the conversation should focus less on AI itself and more on how we help people continue developing those capabilities throughout their careers.

The responsibility sits with all of us

As talent leaders, we have a responsibility to help young people build the skills and confidence they will need for the future. We also need to create workplaces where learning does not stop at a certain level or stage of someone's career.

Encouragingly, nine in ten advertising and marketing leaders already recognise the importance of these skills. The challenge now is making sure we actually do something with that awareness by making development continuous, creating stronger links between industry and education, and ensuring people have the opportunity to keep adapting as technology evolves.

When I think about my 15-year-old and what work might look like in a few years' time, I feel optimistic. Not because the future is predictable, but because every generation has learned to adapt to change in its own way.

The organisations that thrive in the years ahead will be the ones that build cultures where learning never stops and where people remain curious enough to evolve alongside it.

Because preparing the next generation matters.

But preparing ourselves matters just as much.

Paula Cunnington is Chief Talent Officer at Publicis Groupe, UK.

The opinions expressed here are those of the authors and were submitted in accordance with the IPA terms and conditions regarding the uploading and contribution of content to the IPA newsletters, IPA website, or other IPA media, and should not be interpreted as representing the opinion of the IPA.