Workday Chief Learning Officer Chris Ernst discusses new research from Workday about why leaders are organizing work around skills, not jobs, in the age of AI, how they’re preparing for a potential talent shortage, and the key strategies they’re adopting.
2025 marks a pivotal moment in the ongoing evolution of humans and technology in the workplace as the arrival of AI Agents redefines the skills needed to thrive. This is not a moment in time, but a paradigm shift, and it’s prompting business leaders to make changes.
According to our latest global study, The State of Skills, over half of business leaders (51%) are concerned about a future talent shortage, driven by the fact that only 32% strongly believe the skills in their organization today are the same that they will need for future success.
Leaders understand that the world of work is changing, but only 54% of those surveyed said they have a clear view of skills within their organization. This lack of insights is not only causing concerns among business leaders, it’s preventing many from deciding on the best path forward.
In place of traditional talent management practices, leaders have turned to skills-based strategies. At Workday, and alongside many of our customers, we’ve seen firsthand how skills not only create a clearer picture of the workforce, but also cultivate the agility and resilience needed to thrive in an AI-augmented world.
Our research reveals that leaders identify a combination of technical and uniquely human skills as the most critical areas of expertise currently missing from their workforce:
The growing emphasis on social and individual skills underscores the enduring value of human-centric skills to cultivate a resilient workforce and culture of continuous learning in an environment defined by constant change.
"AI is reshaping the workplace, but the human element has never been more essential. Organizations that embrace a skills-first mindset will not only unlock AI’s potential, but also harness human ingenuity in new and transformative ways.”
Chris Ernst
Chief Learning Officer
Workday
In fact, findings from a separate Workday study, Elevating Human Potential: The AI Skills Revolution, identified four top uniquely human skills that are critical in an AI-dominated future:
As AI continues to augment and automate various aspects of work—leaders will need to evaluate how the skills within their workforce are changing in real time. At Workday, for example, we have business-approved critical skills on 100% of our job profiles, representing all 20,400 Workmates. This data is now the foundation for implementing our skills-based strategy, from hiring to upskilling to career growth.
The age of AI demands a more agile, data-driven, and personalized approach to talent management. Over half (55%) of organizations worldwide have already started the shift to a skills-based approach, with an additional 23% planning to do so within the next 12 months.
What is a skills-based organization? A skills-based organization places skills at the center of its workforce strategy, creating a new operating model to elevate humans and supercharge work. Skills-based organizations use AI and skills as the data language of work to build more resilient and agile workforces.
By comparison, traditional talent management often relies on manual processes and historical data, which can quickly become outdated in the face of AI’s rapid advances. This often leads to a reactive approach, where leaders are always playing catch-up instead of anticipating future needs and recalibrating their organization to optimize the skills of their existing employees.
Here are the top reasons leaders are adopting skills-based strategies:
Not only are leaders thinking about accelerating performance, they're also thinking about employee experience, with 82% agreeing that a skills-based strategy can help to create more equal access to opportunity.
Transitioning to a skills-based approach is not without its challenges, which include resistance to change, connecting skills data across different systems, and the time needed to reskill employees —but the rapid rise of AI will have a key role to play in accelerating this shift.
Not only is AI a catalyst for the shift to a skills-based future, it’s an enabler. 41% of leaders believe AI can help to mitigate skills shortages, with the top benefits including:
In addition to providing the necessary skills data to make informed workforce decisions, AI will also help to free up more time through automation, allowing employees to focus on upskilling through personalized learning and development guided by the very same data.
While AI’s transformation of the world of work is still to be fully realized, the current pace of change has made it clear to leaders that a skills-based strategy is essential for adopting a proactive approach to talent management. Becoming a skills-based organization doesn’t happen overnight, but those already on the journey are poised to unlock the full potential of their workforce and thrive in the face of uncertainty.
At Workday, we know that a strong skills strategy is central to elevating humans and supercharging work. We are on the journey to becoming a skills-based organization, sharing insights from our own experience to guide customers, and partnering with the public and non-profit sector to help make a skills-based economy a reality.
Skills-based strategies are a win-win for employers and employees—opening up access to new pools of talent, giving employees new opportunities for growth, and helping companies drive performance. Realizing those benefits requires a clear view of the path forward, the challenges that might arise, and the solutions to overcome them.
Ready to delve deeper into the skills revolution?
Download the full report to explore the global state of skills, including:
The future of work is skills-based, and this report is your actionable guide to navigating this shift for the benefit of your people and business.
What was an emerging “future-of-work” concept just a few years ago is now the talent management vision for many organizations. Chris Ernst, chief learning officer at Workday, shares insights gained through the move toward a skills-based talent strategy at Workday.
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