Corporate Leaders Are Increasingly Upskilling for AI, but Major Skills Gaps Remain, Research Finds

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Most leaders (62%) have attended an AI training, up from 42% in 2024, a new report from General Assembly finds. However, less than half (47%) say their companies offer leadership-specific AI training and most report that their companies only offer employees occasional AI training or no AI training (31%).

“Executives must have the skills to lead on AI,” said Daniele Grassi, CEO of General Assembly.

Share

“Executives must have the skills to lead on AI,” said Daniele Grassi, CEO of General Assembly. “If you’re questioning why you aren’t seeing ROI from AI investments, look at the top, and make sure leadership is equipped with the technical and change management skills that move the needle.”

Additionally, leaders’ confidence in their AI skills has improved dramatically. Nearly three-quarters of leaders (74%) say they know how to make AI-related vendor decisions for their departments, up from 61% in 2024. And 57% say they are very to extremely confident they know how to use AI without compromising company data, up from 42% in 2024. However, 30% say they are only somewhat confident, and 13% are not at all to not very confident, highlighting that significant risks remain for enterprises adopting AI.

As AI advances, leadership fears around job loss have ticked up, with 36% saying there is at least some chance AI could replace their job (up from 27% in 2024). Additionally, 12% of leaders believe AI will replace most or all of their employees in the next 10 years, up from 8% in 2024.

Almost three-quarters of leaders (73%) now encourage their teams to use AI, up from 55% in 2024, and 75% say their teams use AI regularly, up from 48% in 2024. However, only 38% have reworked their team structure and workflows around AI. Leaders who had done this are 15% more likely to say they are confident in their ability to use AI tools without compromising their data, and 25% more likely to say they can make AI-related vendor decisions with confidence.

For leaders not using AI, the top reason is that it is not a leadership priority (28%), while 22% say their current workflows are sufficient and 18% say they don’t have the skills to implement and use AI. Leaders who personally encourage their team to use AI are more than seven times more likely to say their company offers regular AI training–and 68% of those who do not encourage their teams to use AI say their company offers no AI training.

The number of companies that say they offer employees regular AI training increased to 28% from 16% last year, demonstrating significant progress toward the systematic and ongoing AI upskilling required for successful AI transformation.

“The message is clear: leadership championship, organizational transformation and continuous upskilling are all key to driving successful AI adoption,” said Grassi.

General Assembly surveyed 651 company leaders (Vice Presidents in the US and Directors and Vice Presidents in the UK) on October 10, 2024 and most recently on September 4, 2025. Results were weighted to be representative of the overall population.

To learn more about the research, click here.

About General Assembly

General Assembly (GA) is the leading talent and upskilling partner that helps individuals and businesses acquire the real skills required to succeed in an increasingly complex technological era. Founded in 2011 to make tech-centric jobs accessible to anyone and meet the demand of fast-growing tech companies, GA evolved into a center of excellence in training people from all backgrounds to upgrade their practical knowledge of tech skills now required in every company and in any role. With a global presence, hands-on instruction, and a passionate alumni community, GA gives learners 360-degree support as they take the next step in their career journey. General Assembly is part of LHH, the professional talent solutions arm of The Adecco Group, the world’s leading talent advisory and solutions company. GA matches the right talent to business needs. All day, every day: GA puts real skills to work.