Forrester’s research has shown that a failure to commit to long-term, inclusive AI education can greatly impact an organisation.

Research and advisory firm Forrester has published the results of a report in which it explored the ramifications for employers and their organisations, when there is a failure to promote AI education across the entirety of a company.  

The AIQ 2.0: Employees (Still) Aren’t Ready To Succeed With Workforce AI report found that while the majority of AI decision-makers and their organisations are using predictive and generative AI (GenAI), only half say they offer training in this area to non-technical employees. As a result, many companies are failing to invest in AI understanding, skills and ethics among the wider workforce. 

The report said: “Those that have tried to upskill haven’t been particularly successful, yet people remain central to the success of your AI strategy.”

Employer readiness

According to a previous report issued by Forrester, the State of AI 2025 survey, almost 70pc of AI decision-makers said they are using GenAI in deployed production applications, while 20pc use it to run experiments and among automation decision-makers. 81pc of automation decision-makers also said AI copilots that assist employees in their work are important applications. 

Forrester suggests that this is indicative of a growing problem in which there is a growing disconnect between the AI needs of a company and the actions being taken. 

“AI is becoming more important to the work lives of employees and employees must adapt,” said the organisation. “But adaptation isn’t coming quickly or easily. Many employers remain mired in an environment of low skills and employee fears that isn’t conducive to successfully adopting workforce AI or driving productivity from its use.”

Research found that the proportion of AI decision-makers across six countries who said their organisations offer internal training on AI to non-technical employees only grew from 47pc in 2024 to 51pc in 2025, an improvement of just 4pc. Also only growing by 4pc was the number of AI decision-makers who said that their organisations offer training on prompt engineering – which Forrester finds to be a key skill for using most workforce AI tools in the modern era – which grew from 19pc to 23pc. 

Fear factor

Forrester also noted that fears around ‘stunt adoption’ and AI-related job loss are hindering implementation, despite Forrester’s opinion that “very few jobs were lost to AI in 2025”. Data indicated that future job loss, while possible, will not constitute a job apocalypse, yet fears persist, due in part to a failure by organisations to correctly or consistently discuss and explain the process of introducing AI.  

The report said: “Forrester’s 2025 data shows that 43pc of employees fear that, in general, many people will lose their jobs to automation in the next five years, while 25pc fear it will impact their own job during that span. This creates an ambient environment of fear and mistrust.”

The organisation added that one business leader said some of their employees fear job less, which turns them away from AI “altogether”.

“Organisations that fail to frame workforce AI as an opportunity builder for employees and that don’t articulate the benefits from an employee perspective see fears of job loss magnified,” said Forrester.

So, how might fears and anxieties be reduced so employers and employees can better embrace the changing landscape?

According to Forrester’s research, comprehensive learning and engagement programmes are key, with the report noting that leading organisations move beyond formal training and invest in continuous, hands-on learning and peer-based approaches that drive real adoption and impact.

Commenting on the findings of the report, JP Gownder, a vice-president and principal analyst at Forrester said: “Employers aren’t giving their people the skills, understanding, or ethical grounding they need to succeed with AI and it’s becoming a clear bottleneck to productivity and ROI. Our research shows most organisations are rolling out AI tools without investing in employees’ ability to use them effectively.

“To close the gap, businesses must move beyond surface-level training and build continuous, hands-on learning that demystifies AI, addresses employee concerns and develops real capability. This isn’t about replacing workers, it’s about enabling them to work smarter with AI.

“The organisations that treat AI literacy as a strategic priority, not a box-ticking exercise, will be the ones that unlock meaningful productivity gains and long-term competitive advantage.”

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