Building skilled expertise for an AI-infused world

Much of the conversation about AI and work focuses on office-based knowledge work, like software engineers, accountants and tech employees.

But some of the biggest changes to work are happening in skilled trade, technical and service roles. Think about the pharmacy technician monitoring stock, or the industrial mechanic diagnosing a fault. AI is already becoming part of these jobs, supporting routine tasks and informing decisions.

At the same time, many experienced workers are retiring, taking decades of practical knowledge with them. How do we prepare the next generation of workers for an AI-infused workplace?

Pearson’s new research, For Every Future: Preparing Early-Career Skilled Trade, Talent and Service Talent for an AI-Infused World, identifies a “triple capability gap” that is changing how expertise is built. Workers increasingly need:

• The ability to use AI safely and critically
• Human skills such as communication, judgment and adaptability
• Practical knowledge developed through experience

Closing the AI training gap

People entering skilled professions will need to understand how to work with AI for their specific roles. Yet many are not getting that preparation.

Most pharmacy technicians we heard from said AI was not explicitly covered in their training. And while most of the Industrial Machinery Mechanics expected to use AI at work, fewer than half were even moderately confident that their training was preparing them for an AI-enabled workplace.

This points to a need for more role-specific AI education before people enter the workforce, alongside continuous on-the-job learning as technology changes.

Developing human skills alongside AI

Knowing how to use AI is only one part of the picture. Early-career workers also need the confidence and judgment to question its outputs, explain decisions, apply it safely and work effectively with others.

This is particularly crucial in skilled settings, where safety, quality and accountability are paramount. An AI tool might provide a recommendation, for example, but people remain responsible for deciding whether that recommendation is right.

As Gail Hall, Vice President, Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK, told us: “Pharmacy technicians will still need a strong foundation of core clinical knowledge. They will need to know how to critically appraise AI outputs and know when to override or escalate.”

Human skills therefore need to be treated as core capabilities, taught deliberately rather than left to chance.

Passing on expertise to newer workers

The third challenge is experience. Much of what makes someone good at their job can't be fully captured in a handbook or training manual. It comes from experience: knowing how to spot a problem before it becomes critical, handle an unexpected situation or recognise when something seems off.

As experienced workers leave the workforce, organisations risk losing this practical know-how and professional judgment along with them.

As Pearson’s Managing Director of Qualifications, Freya Thomas-Monk, reflected during discussions around the research: "If experience can no longer be assumed, how do we help the next generation become great at what they do?"

The answer will require more opportunities for mentoring, workplace coaching, observation and hands-on learning, alongside better ways to capture and share the knowledge of experienced workers.

A moment for action: closing the expertise gap

The challenge is significant. Our report shows that in the UK, 99% of skilled job openings over the coming decade are expected to come from replacing workers who leave the workforce. In the US, 98.5% of annual openings through 2034 are expected to be driven by replacement demand.

This means employers will need to develop skilled talent to do the work that needs doing, just at the same time as the nature of that work is changing. Not an easy task, but a necessary one.

Educators, employers, policymakers, industry bodies and technology providers all have a role to play in making that happen. Training needs to reflect modern workplaces, qualifications need to keep pace with technology, and learning needs to be more closely connected to practice.

As AI changes the way people in skilled professions work, helping people build, demonstrate and continually develop expertise will become increasingly important.

Success depends on how well we prepare people to adapt to new technology, exercise human judgment and pass on their expertise to future generations.

Read the For Every Future report in full and discover its five key findings below.

Five key findings from Pearson’s For Every Future report

1. AI is rapidly reshaping occupations not typically associated with the AI conversation. Much of the AI conversation has focused on office-based knowledge work. But AI is also becoming part of how work gets done across skilled trade, technical and service occupations, changing tasks, workflows and expectations of competence.
2. Demand is rising for skilled trade, technical and service workers-at the same time these jobs are being reshaped by AI. Workforce demand is already high and rising at the same critical moment these jobs are being reshaped by AI. Much of that demand will be driven by people retiring or leaving skilled jobs. The challenge is not simply filling vacancies but building expertise faster and transferring practical know-how to the next generation.
3. A new triple capability gap is emerging, changing how expertise is built. Skilled trade, technical and service workers must simultaneously develop: role-specific AI literacy and critical judgment, the human capabilities that set them apart from AI, and the institutional knowledge and practical know-how that retiring experts are taking with them.
4. Closing these gaps requires education, training, and workplace learning to evolve. These three things must evolve to build role-specific AI literacy and critical judgment, strengthen durable human capabilities, and expand opportunities to develop practical know-how through mentoring, observation, feedback, simulation and hands-on experience.
5. The cost of inaction is significant. If these challenges are not addressed, we risk leaving workers behind, creating dangerous gaps in safety-critical occupations, and limiting employers’ ability to find and develop the skilled workers they need.