Are Your People Suffering From the AI Skills Gap? 

Artificial intelligence is transforming the world of work at a blistering pace. An overwhelming 93% of New Zealand businesses report that AI has made their workers more efficient, while only a small fraction (7-14%) attribute any job losses to the technology—a figure largely driven by concurrent economic pressures.

The evidence is clear: AI is poised to help New Zealand solve its long-standing productivity challenges and unlock a potential $76 billion in GDP growth. The true barrier to this opportunity is not the technology itself, but a critical, multi-level skills gap. A 2024 survey identified that 43% of non-adopting businesses cite a "lack of expertise" as their main barrier. This gap exists at all levels: in the boardroom, among managers, and across the general workforce.

Investment in AI capability is the most effective strategy for retaining high-value talent, boosting employee engagement, and building a durable competitive advantage. 

The choice for leaders is not if AI will transform their organisation, but how. They can allow a "replace" strategy to be forced upon them by inaction and a deskilled workforce, or they can choose a "reinvent" strategy by investing in their people.

The Global Wake-Up Call: AI as an Urgent Executive-Level Issue

The conversation around artificial intelligence has fundamentally shifted. Until recently, discussions of job-related impacts were often "sugarcoated" by corporate leaders, who preferred to focus on innovation and the historical precedent of new role creation. That ambiguity has now been replaced by a period of stark, public declarations from global executives, who are now openly predicting deep, structural cuts to white-collar, knowledge-based roles.¹

This shift from private whispers to public warnings serves as a global "wake-up call" for leaders in every sector.¹ The scale of this predicted disruption is unprecedented. Ford Motor CEO Jim Farley, speaking in July 2025, stated bluntly: "Artificial intelligence is going to replace literally half of all white-collar workers in the U.S.". He added that "AI will leave a lot of white-collar people behind," moving the threat of automation from the factory floor directly into the corporate office.

This sentiment is echoed within the technology sector itself. Dario Amodei, CEO of the AI lab Anthropic, has urged executives to stop hedging, predicting that "half of all entry-level jobs could disappear in one to five years," a change that could precipitate a U.S. unemployment rate of 10% to 20%. Similarly, ThredUp CEO James Reinhart warned, "I think it’s going to destroy way more jobs than the average person thinks".

These warnings are aimed squarely at the finance and professional services sectors, the core of the modern knowledge economy. At JPMorgan Chase, Marianne Lake, CEO of the bank's consumer business, told investors she could see "operations head count falling by 10% in the coming years" as AI tools are deployed. Micha Kaufman, CEO of the freelance marketplace Fiverr, delivered the most direct message to this audience in a memo to his staff: "It does not matter if you are a programmer, designer, product manager, data scientist, lawyer, customer support rep, salesperson, or a finance person—AI is coming for you".¹

The implications of this shift are profound. The timeline for this disruption is not generational; it is projected to occur within a single business planning cycle. The traditional "wait and see" approach is no longer a viable strategy. Any leader who does not have an active AI workforce strategy is already behind. This global context has created a baseline of anxiety and urgency that is now compelling New Zealand business leaders to ask what this means for us.

The NZ Context: Our Unique Productivity and Skills Challenge

While the global narrative is defined by a fear of replacement, the New Zealand context is fundamentally different. Here, the AI conversation is defined by a national economic imperative. New Zealand's government has identified AI as a critical tool to address our persistent productivity challenges and "grow a competitive economy". Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr. Shane Reti has warned that "we're falling behind other small, advanced economies on AI-readiness," making adoption a matter of strategic urgency.²

The prize for success is substantial. Government and industry analysis suggests that widespread AI adoption "could add $76 billion to our GDP by 2038". The government's first national AI strategy, released in 2025, is built not on foundational AI development, but on a pragmatic focus on "adoption and application".⁵ This national strategy makes New Zealand's workforce capability the single most important lever for unlocking this $76 billion opportunity.

Crucially, local data provides a direct and optimistic counter-narrative to the global "replacement" fears. The reality in Aotearoa is one of augmentation, not elimination.

• Widespread Adoption: AI is already mainstream. As of 2025, 82% of New Zealand organisations report using AI tools.⁶
• The Augmentation Effect: The dominant impact is efficiency. An overwhelming 93% of New Zealand businesses report that AI has made their workers more efficient.⁶
• Minimal Displacement: Contrary to global predictions, direct job losses remain minimal. The AI Forum of New Zealand's March 2025 report found that only 7% of companies report AI directly replacing any workers.⁷

Even as more recent data (August 2025) shows this displacement figure has risen to 14%, the context removes the alarm. AI Forum Executive Director Madeline Newman attributes this increase directly to the "current economic challenges" (recessionary pressure), noting that when "an organisation becomes more productive, they tend to free up resources".⁹ This is not a wave of AI-driven redundancies, but a productivity-driven efficiency gain during a recession. The primary trend, she notes, is a "reduction in the number of new hires" because businesses "are able to do more with the staff they had".⁹

This data presents leaders with a clear choice: when AI "frees up resources," a leader can choose to "bank" the saving by reducing headcount (the 14% path), or "reinvest" that new capacity by upskilling staff for higher-value work (the 93% path).

If the path to productivity is clear and replacement is low, why are we "falling behind"? The true barrier to adoption is not the technology, but the human capability. The 2024 Datacom State of AI Index identified the bottleneck: 43% of non-users cite a "lack of expertise" as their main barrier to AI adoption.⁴

This "skills gap" is not a simple problem. Analysis from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) shows it is a multi-level challenge that a one-size-fits-all training solution cannot solve.⁴ It exists at every level of the organisation.

The New Zealand AI Skills Gap: A Multi-Level Challenge

This table provides a diagnostic framework based on government analysis of the AI skills shortage in New Zealand.⁴

This multi-level gap—from the executive to the frontline—is the single greatest barrier preventing New Zealand organisations from moving from simple adoption to genuine transformation.

The Strategic Pivot: Building Competitive Advantage Through Workforce Investment

The existence of this multi-level skills gap proves that the greatest barrier to scaling AI is not technology or workforce resistance, but a lack of leadership and strategy.

A 2025 McKinsey report found that while 92% of companies plan to increase their AI investment, only 1% of leaders describe their AI deployment as "mature". The report concludes that "the biggest barrier to scaling is not employees—who are ready—but leaders, who are not steering fast enough".¹⁰

This leadership gap means that investment in AI capability must precede, or at least accompany, investment in AI technology. For human resources and finance leaders, this positions upskilling not as a discretionary "cost" but as a high-return strategic investment.

The return on investment (ROI) in AI upskilling is clear, direct, and measurable in two areas that are top-of-mind for every HR manager:

1. Employee Retention: In a competitive talent market, professional development is a powerful retention tool. Research from Culture Amp shows that 54% of immediate employee retention is directly attributable to an employee's belief that their employer supports their professional development.¹¹ By offering a clear upskilling path, organisations directly counter the job-security anxiety created by AI, transforming fear into loyalty.
2. Employee Engagement: The same research found that employees who "had access to the upskilling they needed... were 21% more engaged" than their peers.¹¹ Engaged employees are more productive, innovative, and customer-focused, solving the very problem AI is meant to address.

New Zealand businesses are beginning to recognise this. Recent surveys show that 81% of New Zealand businesses now support AI training for their staff⁷, signalling a clear understanding that investment in people is a prerequisite for unlocking the technology's value.

This investment, however, must be directed at the right skills. As AI and automation absorb routine technical tasks, a new skills premium emerges. Research from Harvard Business School argues that "soft skills"—such as communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and ethical judgment—are becoming "even more crucial than technical know-how".¹² These human-centric skills are the "foundation for ongoing learning".¹² An employee's ability to use a specific AI tool may become obsolete in 12 months, but their ability to critically analyse its output, integrate it into a complex project, and communicate its findings to a client is an enduring, high-value asset.

This reality requires organisations to move from a reactive to a proactive workforce planning model.¹³ Leaders must anticipate future capability needs and make a strategic choice: either face a costly and disruptive scramble for new talent in the external market or, more cost-effectively, "focus on reskilling and upskilling existing employees".¹⁴

Practical Steps to Future-Proof Your Team with AI Skills

Taking action on AI upskilling can feel daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. Here are some practical steps New Zealand business leaders and HR managers can take to future-proof their teams:

1. Assess Your Current State: Start with an audit of how AI is (or isn’t) already being used in your organisation. Identify roles or tasks that are most likely to be impacted by AI – whether through automation or augmentation. Engage with employees to understand their skill gaps and concerns.

2. Create a Strategic Training Plan: Rather than ad-hoc tutorials, develop a structured training roadmap aligned with your business strategy. Set goals for what competencies you need in-house (e.g. data literacy, prompt engineering for AI tools, AI ethics and governance knowledge). Prioritise training for teams where AI can drive quick wins, and ensure the plan is endorsed by senior leadership to signal its importance.

3. Customise the Content: Leverage industry-specific examples and tools in the training. If you’re a bank, for example, training might include how to use AI in fraud detection or loan processing. If you’re in professional services, include modules on AI for research, reporting, or client service. Bespoke content will resonate more with employees than generic tech talk. (This is where partnering with a specialist provider helps – more on that below.)

4. Blend Theory with Hands-On Practice: Adults learn best by doing. Incorporate interactive workshops, sandbox sessions with actual AI software, and real case studies. Perhaps have teams bring a current work problem and explore how an AI tool could help solve it. This not only cements learning but may also spot new process improvements.

5. Address Mindset and Culture: Don’t ignore the emotional side of this change. Encourage an open dialogue about job security and ethics. Emphasise that the goal is to augment human expertise, not replace it. Share success stories of employees who embraced AI and advanced in their roles. Consider appointing internal “AI champions” – staff who are enthusiastic about the tech – to support their peers and lead by example.

6. Measure and Iterate: Set metrics for your training initiative’s success (e.g. percentage of employees certified in certain skills, AI usage rates in projects, productivity metrics post-training). Monitor progress, gather feedback from participants, and iterate on the programme. AI is evolving quickly; plan to update the training curriculum regularly so skills stay current.

By following steps like these, organisations can build a solid foundation for continuous learning. The key is to start now, even if on a small scale. Pilot an AI training workshop with one department, for instance, and expand from there. Each step taken is progress toward a future-ready workforce.

Choosing the Right Partner for Tailored AI Upskilling

Implementing a customised AI training programme is a significant undertaking – it pays to have the right expertise on board. Many New Zealand organisations are turning to specialist training providers to co-create and deliver these programmes. One such provider is Netmarketing Courses, a Kiwi-based training company that has emerged as a leader in tailored digital skills training. That local touch matters: a training programme built for a New Zealand audience, with examples drawn from our market and references to NZ regulations or cultural context, will resonate far more than an off-the-shelf overseas course.

Custom training is not a luxury for the few – it’s rapidly becoming a must-have for any organisation that wants to remain competitive in the AI age. With the right partner, even a mid-size firm can implement world-class AI education for its staff, ensuring no one is left behind as the technology accelerates.

Call to Action: Future-Proof Your Workforce Today

The AI revolution isn’t coming tomorrow – it’s here today. New Zealand organisations have a narrowing window to get ahead of the curve. The choice is stark: do we allow AI to “leave a lot of people behind” as warned, or do we proactively bring our people forward into the future?

Don’t wait for the wave to crash over your organisation. Take the initiative to future-proof your workforce. Contact Netmarketing Courses at info@netmarketingcourses.co.nz for more information.

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