Corndel’s 2025 Workplace Training Report reveals a growing disconnect between leaders and employees in their perceptions of their AI preparedness and points towards a significant opportunity for employers to address the shortage of data and AI skills across industries.

The latest report found that HR leaders are confident about their organisation’s AI readiness, with 88% confident in leadership's ability to guide AI adoption and 60% very confident that training programs are equipping employees with the necessary skills for digital transformation.

However, the view from the organisation’s front lines is less optimistic. While 71% of middle managers actively leverage AI in their daily tasks, 52% of employees said they have never used AI tools. Alarmingly, although 97% of HR leaders claim their organisations offer AI training – and 50% believed it to have been comprehensive - only 39% of employees report having received it. Among younger employees, 74% use AI tools regularly, but just 52% have received formal training – and only 14% rate this training as highly effective. As a result, one-third of UK employees feel unprepared to adopt AI in the next 1–3 years. Only 55% of employees trust their managers to lead digital transformation effectively, and just four in 10 believe they can adopt AI tools themselves. This lack of knowledge and access to AI tools threatens to undermine the potential gains that businesses expect from AI adoption.

48% of senior leaders admit they haven’t yet used an AI tool, compared to 29% of middle managers. While it’s not uncommon for leaders to be less involved with day-to-day tooling, this becomes problematic when they’re expected to set direction, identify opportunities, and support their teams, yet without sight of how these tools actually work. This knowledge gap may explain why CEOs overestimated the potential gains from AI adoption last year. According to PwC's 28th Annual Global CEO Survey, 34% of CEOs reported profitability improvements, significantly below the 46% who had anticipated these outcomes.

"Many senior leaders are being asked to set AI strategies without hands-on experience of the tools themselves,” explains Sean Cosgrove, Chief Commercial Officer at Corndel. “The National Data Strategy has already flagged the gap in leadership-level data skills, which extends to AI. Leaders don’t just need a vision for AI adoption – they need a real understanding of the skills their workforce requires. For many, even foundational AI skills like crafting effective prompts for generative AI are missing. That’s a gap we need to close."

According to Corndel, many organisations are focusing their training efforts on narrow groups, such as technical teams or senior leadership, rather than an offering across the broader workforce. Yet, Corndel found that 88% of employees using generative AI are in non-technical roles, meaning that the people most likely to use AI day-to-day – managers, customer service reps, and analysts – are often receiving the least by way of training. Without proper training, AI adoption is likely to remain low, stalling the promised impact of AI.

"Our research shows that leadership teams are confident in their AI strategies, but many employees don’t feel prepared to keep up. Without the right training, AI adoption stalls before it even starts. Organisations must take a more strategic approach to AI skills development – reaching beyond technical teams to the workforce." said Sean Cosgrove.

Organisations that understand the need for cross-departmental AI literacy and embrace AI across all functions are 2.5 times more likely to prioritise reskilling and upskilling, capturing substantial cost efficiencies and revenue gains.

To ensure AI adoption is successful, Corndel is calling on businesses to act decisively in four key areas:

• Enhance AI leadership readiness: upskill leaders in AI fundamentals and change skills to drive transformation and inspire trust
• Close critical skills gaps: prioritise technical, human, and data training to build a future-ready workforce
• Leverage apprenticeships: maximise the Apprenticeship Levy to develop critical technology, data, and leadership skills
• Boost productivity: optimise AI to address workload imbalances, streamline processes, and improve team performance

This week, Corndel, in partnership with Imperial College London and supported by Microsoft, has launched The Enterprise AI Academy to help large complex organisations embed AI skills at all levels. The Academy’s programmes include Strategic

AI Leadership, AI Engineering, AI Changemaker, and AI Productivity and equip professionals with the skills needed to realise AI’s potential.

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