There’s no doubt that artificial intelligence has changed the way we work. It seems like every conference, presentation and webinar is about AI, why you should use AI, how you should use AI, and how threat actors are using AI to attack your organization.
In the meantime, companies are told they need to integrate AI into their product to stay competitive, implement proper AI governance, incorporate AI into their strategies and train their employees on using AI.
For most organizations, AI wasn’t in their 5- or 10-year strategic plans, and the emergence and rapid adoption of this new technology has forced them to pivot quickly if they want to keep up. This means finding knowledgeable professionals who can leverage AI or training their current employees on how to use this technology effectively — but that’s not always happening.
ISACA’s 2025 AI Pulse Poll shows that 89% of digital trust professionals say they’ll need AI training within the next two years to advance their careers or even keep their current roles, with 45% saying they need it within the next six months. However, 32% of organizations aren’t currently providing AI training to any employees. When training is provided, it’s often only for those working in IT (35%) and rarely for all employees (22%). Consider this in the context that 81% believe employees in their organization currently use AI whether or not their organization permits it.
While statistics show a positive year-over-year trend for employees receiving AI training, it’s clear that organizations are still running into challenges.
On the road to developing their employees’ AI skills, organizations can experience a number of obstacles in providing effective training.
- Job loss fears - Many employees are worried that AI could reduce or replace their jobs, which can cause resistance to AI. If these fears aren’t addressed, employees could avoid using AI tools altogether, which can make any training they do receive seem ineffective or unnecessary.
- Cost and investment concerns - Organizations are hesitant to invest in training, as they could be unsure if their investment will lead to tangible business impact and afraid that employees might take their new skills and leave.
- Trust and reliability issues - Many organizations have concerns over the reliability of AI, data privacy issues that arise from using AI, and losing personability in their customer interactions.
- Ineffective one-size-fits-all training - Generalized, one-time AI training can fail to engage employees, address their specific needs or account for the knowledge gap between employees who lack foundational AI knowledge and those who are more familiar with it.
- Business process disruption - Employees and leaders find comfort in traditional processes and workflows, and many could see AI as unnecessary or disruptive, preferring to stick with tried-and-true operational methods.
If your organization has experienced challenges with AI training, you’re not alone. Here are some tactics you can use to overcome training obstacles and level up your employees’ AI skills:
- Start with a pilot program – Before rolling out an enterprise-wide AI solution, start small with some low-risk AI projects. This will allow you to safely explore the potential of AI, demonstrate what value it could bring to the organization, gather feedback, and identify training needs for a wider, diversified audience.
- Upskill and reskill employees – For AI-focused roles, invest in targeted training programs to help your employees build the technical and soft skills needed to be successful in these positions. This could include partnering with organizations like ISACA to effectively develop your employees and pursue relevant certifications.
- Embrace flexible learning – Different employees have different learning needs. As you begin training a wider audience, you’ll need to ensure that you provide flexible, personalized learning opportunities to address specific needs, roles and learning styles within the organization. This could include both structured and informal AI learning programs, the latter of which is particularly useful to remote teams.
- Prioritize data privacy and ethics training — Ensure employees are using AI responsibly by providing training that includes information on data privacy and ethics. This will help ensure compliance and address risks around the use of AI in your organization.
- Foster a culture of continuous learning – Enthusiasm is contagious! Encourage your employees to pursue topics that interest them, share what they learn across teams and train their coworkers to increase knowledge across the organization.
- Create momentum for change – Incorporating AI into the way you do business could be a big shift in how your organization operates. Consider using change management principles to support the transition and ensure a successful adoption.
- Communicate transparently – Where there is a vacuum of information, people will fill it with worst case scenarios. Tackle these fears and misconceptions head-on by having honest discussions, open forums and clear messaging about AI and how it will impact roles at your company.
Investing in AI training and skills development is key if you want to ensure smoother, more effective AI implementation. By using these tactics, you’ll foster a culture of innovation in your organization that keeps pace with emerging technology challenges and empowers your employees to leverage AI with confidence.
