Workera said on 23 September 2026 that AI-specific skills training was available at 58% of companies, versus 25% a year earlier, while 56% of employees surveyed reported no work hours allocated to developing those skills in its 2026 State of Skills Intelligence Report.
Key points
- Workera surveyed 1,000 salaried professionals at large US organisations in July 2026.
- Workera said 43% cited a lack of relevant materials as a challenge to developing AI skills.
- The company said 68% used AI tools multiple times a week, up from 40% in 2025.
Workera compares training offers across two surveys
Workera conducted the latest survey through Pollfish in July 2026, questioning 1,000 full-time salaried professionals at US organisations with 5,000 or more employees. Its year-on-year figures compare those responses with a Pollfish survey of 800 professionals meeting the same criteria in March 2025.
In the latest results, Workera said the share of companies offering AI-specific training had reached 58%, against 25% in the earlier survey. It also reported that 80% of companies felt on track for an AI-enabled future, up from 67%, while 30% felt strongly about their position against competitors, up from 19%.
Employees’ reported use of AI tools increased alongside the training offers. Workera put the share using the tools multiple times a week at 68%, compared with 40% in 2025. The company describes its business as a platform for assessing employees’ skills and supporting talent decisions.
Asked about obstacles to developing AI skills, 43% of respondents cited a shortage of relevant training materials, Workera said. Its survey also found that nearly 60% said AI skills carried equal weight to other skills, or received no priority, in decisions about assignments or promotions.
Employees report limited time to develop AI skills
Workera said 56% of employees named a lack of allocated work time when asked about challenges to developing AI skills. A separate question found that 84% spent five hours or less each week on skills development and training, according to the company.
Kian Katanforoosh, Workera’s founder and chief executive, urged employers to set aside time for staff to learn rather than expect them to fit it around their work, ZDNET reported. Taylor Sullivan, Workera’s vice-president of product and assessment, said employers should make development part of employees’ roles and hold managers accountable for it.
Some employees reported seeking learning resources outside their employers. ZDNET put the share using tools their employer had not provided for skills development at 46.5%. Among those respondents, 74.6% used AI tools including ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, the publication reported.
Workera’s survey also asked employees about support from managers. Half said they received enough coaching to advance their careers, while 27% reported regular coaching from a manager or executive at least a couple of days a week. Another 22% said they never received individual coaching, according to the company.
Workera tests Ambient skills assessment
Workera’s survey found that 76.6% of respondents believed AI could not do their jobs better than they could. Asked how much of their current job AI could perform, 78.1% put the share at 30% or less, the company said.
The company also asked about continuous skills measurement, an approach related to its assessment business. Workera said 41% would opt in if they controlled their data, 31% were unsure and 28% would decline. Separately, 43% said they had missed an opportunity or promotion because someone had misjudged their skills.
Workera is piloting Ambient, a skills assessment tool intended to measure capabilities during work, with more than 10,000 sign-ups on its waitlist, ZDNET reported.
