Matt MonetteAs the UK Government sets out to equip 10 million workers with artificial intelligence (AI) skills, it’s clear that we’ve entered a pivotal moment for the workforce. With AI projected to generate £140bn in economic value for the UK, investment in people’s skills is essential for those gains to be realised. So while HR and business leaders may welcome the scale and ambition of this initiative, many risk mistaking breadth for depth.
Training today is often centred on introductory courses: basic prompt-writing, simple automation tutorials, generic overviews of AI tools. These can be helpful starting points, but they fall far short of what organisations truly need to integrate AI into work in a meaningful and sustainable way. True change will not come from teaching employees how to generate content faster. It will come from equipping them with the critical, conceptual and strategic understanding required to reshape how work gets done as AI’s influence on organisations increases.
This is where HR plays a defining role, upskilling teams beyond the fundamentals, so everyone can take full advantage of AI’s transformative potential.
Clarity of purpose starts with HR teams
Too many organisations are rolling out AI training because it feels like the right thing to do, or because they fear being left behind. But without clarity of purpose, training can become a tick‑box exercise and something employees feel obliged to do, without real impact coming out of it.
HR leaders are uniquely positioned to anchor AI learning in genuine business outcomes. Before designing or investing in training, they must question what problem they are trying to solve. Where can AI add the most value? How will roles need to evolve to function alongside the technology? When HR leads strategic alignment around answering these questions, training becomes targeted, relevant and impactful.
Deep capability building over quick-fix courses
Developing AI fluency requires ongoing learning grounded in understanding – how AI systems iterate, how to validate their outputs, when automation is appropriate and when human judgement must intervene. Employees need the confidence to challenge AI, spot inaccuracies and apply the technology to their day-to-day life in a responsible, thoughtful way.
This deeper form of capability building is fundamentally a cultural shift, one that HR is responsible for orchestrating. It requires designing learning pathways, redefining roles, updating frameworks and creating opportunities for continuous practice and reinforcement. The more people get to apply what they’ve learned, the better equipped they are to discover news efficiencies and applications that drive success for their teams.
In other words, HR must help employees understand how AI actually works, not just how to use it.
Prioritising HR and IT alignment
For organisations to adopt AI at scale, HR and IT must operate as strategic partners. AI is not simply a technology decision; it is a workforce transformation project. IT may introduce the tools, but HR and People teams are the ones ensuring employees know what tools they can use, and how to get the most out of them.
This partnership should include creating shared roadmaps and mapping critical workflows so everyone can understand where automation can deliver value, and how roles need to be redesigned to adapt. When HR and IT collaborate in this way, organisations can avoid AI being an ‘add-on’, and make real progress towards it becoming the undercurrent powering every aspect of operations.
Human skills will define AI-enabled workplaces
Despite the pace of AI’s development, the future of work will remain human-first. AI undoubtedly can increase efficiency and improve decision-making, but it cannot replicate empathy, judgement, creativity, or communication, skills that sit at the heart of all businesses.
HR’s role is to ensure these strengths are nurtured alongside technical capability. That means championing continuous upskilling, supporting employees through change and creating environments where people feel empowered rather than threatened by AI. People should be excited about how it might make their lives easier, not scared it might replace them.
The UK’s AI skills initiative is a strong foundation. But for organisations to harness the full potential of AI, HR must take it upon themselves to grow people’s stills further by showing them how those learning apply to real business settings. Only then will organisations, and the UK at large, really start to see AI realising its lofty potential.
Matt Monette is UK country lead & head of expansion at Deel
