AI boom leaves many workers without the data skills employers now need

AI may be spreading rapidly through offices, but many employees still lack the data skills needed to question outputs, interpret results and use the technology properly, according to new industry research

Businesses are rolling out AI tools faster than many employees can use them effectively, according to new research that suggests a growing gap between adoption and basic data literacy across the workforce.

Carruthers and Jackson said its latest Data Maturity Index found that 40 per cent of senior data leaders reported AI was now being used by a high number of employees across their organisation or in specific departments, up from 21 per cent in 2024.

At the same time, 58 per cent said most employees in their organisation were not data literate, while a further three per cent said almost no employees were data literate.

The consultancy said the findings pointed to a widening mismatch as AI becomes embedded in routine business functions such as HR, finance, marketing and operations, where staff are increasingly expected to interpret data outputs, challenge automated recommendations and make decisions based on AI-generated insight.

Caroline Carruthers, co-founder and chief executive of Carruthers and Jackson, said: “Artificial intelligence is now embedded in everyday workflows, and data literacy can no longer be confined to technical specialists. It is becoming a core business capability that is every bit as fundamental as financial literacy or digital skills.”

She added: “All the AI investment in the world will count for little if our people cannot question outputs, challenge assumptions or translate insight into action. If an organisation, or a country, fails to act now in improving data literacy they will fall behind and the highest-value, data-enabled roles will simply be outsourced elsewhere.”

Carruthers and Jackson argued that the problem could not be solved through technology spending alone, despite growing investment in platforms, infrastructure and tooling.

The firm said responsibility for improving data literacy remained diffuse. Schools should introduce data skills earlier, employers should invest more in upskilling existing staff, and governments should provide clearer and more consistent guidance, it added.

Carruthers said the discussion around data at senior level had also shifted. “We are entering what I call the ‘second coming’ of data. Where many board-level conversations about data were centred on compliance, now the questions are more strategic and purpose-driven. Organisations are increasingly asking where they want to go with their data, why, and for whom. The answers require not just technical capability, but a workforce confident in interrogating and applying data responsibly.”

She added: “We’re already in the next industrial revolution, and the real question is how we intend to bring people on board with it. For modern workplaces it might mean reframing their thinking towards the younger generation. They’re often digitally native, highly curious, and adaptable – ideal characteristics for a data-savvy employee. Smart, imaginative organisations are going to embrace that skillset and reap the benefits of effective data and AI.”

READ MORE: ‘AI is rewriting Europe’s networks from the inside out — and the continent isn’t ready‘. Reporting from Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Marco Ryan finds an industry that has already begun redesigning its networks for the demands of artificial intelligence — raising urgent questions about whether Europe’s fragmented telecoms market and regulatory framework can keep pace.

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