Section, the enterprise AI school, has unveiled its latest AI Proficiency Report, revealing that most companies are ill-equipped to deploy AI effectively by 2025. Based on a survey of 5,000 knowledge workers across the U.S., Canada, and the UK, the report highlights significant gaps in AI training, adoption, and workforce readiness.
1. Key Findings of the AI Proficiency Report:
- Workforce Competency Levels:
- Only 1% of the workforce qualifies as AI Experts.
- Less than 10% are highly competent with AI tools.
- 54% of employees are classified as AI Novices, indicating little to no integration of AI into their workflows.
- Training Gaps:
- Only 24% of employees have received AI training or support from their organizations.
- Employees without training are far more likely to remain AI novices.
- Workforce Sentiment:
- Only 23% of employees feel excited about AI’s impact on their jobs.
- 79% report feeling overwhelmed or anxious about AI’s implications.
2. The Five AI Workforce Types:
Section identified five distinct AI proficiency categories:
- AI Experts (1%):
- Use AI daily (67%), save over 20% of their time weekly (57%), and have high trust in AI outputs (100%).
- Strong employer support (93%) and access to AI tools (60%).
- AI Practitioners (8%)
- AI Experimenters (34%)
- AI Novices (54%)
- AI Skeptics (11%):
- Many work in organizations without explicit AI policies (34%).
3. Barriers to Effective AI Deployment:
- Company Policy:
- Lack of clear policies leads to worse outcomes than explicit bans.
- 43% of employees in companies that ban AI still use it, but only 8% leverage it effectively.
- Training Access:
- 76% of the workforce lacks access to company-sponsored AI training.
- Senior employees are nearly three times more proficient than individual contributors due to preferential training access.
- Managerial Influence:
- Even in AI-approving organizations, managerial disapproval reduces team proficiency by 50%.
4. Predictions for 2025 AI Deployments:
- Over 50% of enterprise AI and Large Language Model (LLM) deployments are expected to underperform in their first year due to inadequate training and change management.
- Vendors face potential renewal challenges as deployments stall and adoption falters.
5. Insights from Section CEO Greg Shove:
- “Silence on AI policies leads to worse outcomes than bans,” Shove emphasizes.
- “With proper support and training, employees can unlock significant value from AI integration, but many companies are falling short.”
Section’s AI Proficiency Report sheds light on the urgent need for enterprises to prioritize AI training, clear policy-making, and change management to meet the demands of 2025. While a small percentage of employees are reaping significant productivity benefits from AI, the majority remain untrained, overwhelmed, and unprepared. Companies must address these gaps to ensure successful AI adoption and ROI.
