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Ai, 39% of skills will change by 2030, but half of the people are not trained

Manpowergroup's 'The human edge' report analyses the skills needed to integrate people and artificial intelligence and the measures required: the first is the retraining of people

by Cristina Casadei

9 February 2026

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

New roles
New Skills
Productivity, confidence and well-being under pressure
The generational change

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

That artificial intelligence will change the way of working and the skills needed by workers is now clear to everyone. Slightly less so that it will be the typically human skills, such as creativity, judgement, vision and ethics, that will 'really make a difference'. Technology can amplify them but not replace them. Despite the very fast pace of technological innovation, the adoption of Ai proceeds more slowly because it has to integrate itself into existing processes, cultures and skills,' says Anna Gionfriddo, Managing Director of ManpowerGroup Italia.

On the quantification of change there is still much uncertainty and there are different assessments. The report 'The Human Edge: global trends for the future of work' by ManpowerGroup, the result of surveys and interviews with more than 12,000 workers and 40,000 companies in 41 countries around the world, explains that the redesigning of roles that companies are implementing to integrate people and artificial intelligence more effectively will require new skills: by 2030, 39% of core skills will change and less than half of people have received recent training: this risks creating deep gaps in workers' digital skills. At the same time, talent shortages and an ageing workforce are transforming recruitment strategies. "The impact of artificial intelligence on hiring, in the short term, will remain limited, with only discernible effects in certain areas such as programming and customer service. AI will instead play an increasingly relevant role as a tool for enhancing human capabilities, but this will take time before translating into noticeable changes in labour markets,' Gionfriddo assesses.

The different areas in which companies are taking action make it possible to identify 4 macro-trends that will define the world of work in the near future: the emergence of hybrid super teams, rapid retraining, changing regulations and the crisis of the generational transition.

The new roles

Companies are redesigning job roles to integrate artificial intelligence more effectively: the super teams of the future will be increasingly hybrid, composed of people, AI agents and external talent. Roles are not disappearing, but are being redesigned to integrate AI into high value-added workflows: it is estimated that 39% of core skills will change by 2030. Despite automation, some skills remain difficult to replicate: ethical evaluation (33%), customer service (31%) and team management (30%) remain among the least automatable skills. The success of super teams will therefore depend on the ability of organisations to create effective synergies between human and machine. AI is also evolving from a simple tool to a true operational agent in workflows, even if its deployment faces concrete obstacles: 34% of companies report high costs, 33% fear for data privacy and 30% highlight a significant internal skills gap.

The evolution of skills

Familiarity with artificial intelligence tools is becoming a necessary skill: in a constantly changing labour market, the ability to learn quickly emerges as the most important skill. However, less than half (44%) of people worldwide have received training in the last six months on the skills to cope with AI adoption. This puts the risk of a widening gap between those who master emerging technologies and those who risk being left behind in the future. The positive note to emerge from the report is that there is a prevailing share of working men and women, 62%, who want to develop new skills and build their own path to growth within their current company.

Productivity, confidence and well-being under pressure

The report highlights a growing tension between productivity expectations and people's well-being. 63% of workers say they are in burnout, while low engagement costs the global economy USD 438 billion a year. In this context, a return to rigid policies such as compulsory return to the office risks increasing turnover without producing structural benefits, especially by penalising women and the most qualified talent. At the same time, trust in leaders and organisations is declining: 68% of people do not trust top management and 59% consider misinformation a major problem.

The generational change

The report also highlights that the talent shortage is becoming a structural challenge: by 2030, more than one in four people in advanced economies will be over the age of 55, while 57% of companies say that ageing workforces are already influencing their recruitment strategies. At the same time, traditional educational qualifications are losing their value as a guarantee of employment: the gap between those with a degree and those without one is at its lowest in 30 years, and more than half of Gen Z fear that automation will replace their role in the next two years. In this context, we are witnessing a weakening of future leadership: only 39% of Generation X and 56% of Millennials aspire to managerial roles, while companies will increasingly need leaders capable of integrating advanced human skills and conscious use of artificial intelligence.