AI is reshaping UK work, yet readiness is patchy and shortages still persist. Mark Onisk argues that 2026 demands skills-based workforce orchestration, tighter skills governance, smarter AI-human collaboration and scaled leadership development. Organisations that embed learning in the flow of work and prioritise high-impact skills can turn disruption into advantage.
The UK workforce is at a turning point. AI is reshaping roles, but adoption and readiness vary widely across sectors. Skills England warns of persistent barriers, including low foundational literacy, a fragmented training ecosystem and limited employer understanding of emerging skills needs. At the same time, skills shortages are leaving critical roles unfilled, and investment in traditional training programs have struggled to address this gap.
Organisations that prepare leaders for constant change will be best positioned to turn disruption into a competitive advantage
In 2026, success will depend on building a skills-driven workforce, where agility, continuous learning, and dynamic talent models replace static, backwards-looking job descriptions. Organisations that act now to close skills gaps and prepare leaders for constant change will be best positioned to turn disruption into a competitive advantage in an economy increasingly shaped by technology.
Against this backdrop, four key themes are emerging that signal what organisations must prioritise to thrive in this new era of work.
1) Skills-based workforce orchestration will become the norm
This year, there will be an acceleration towards skills-based workforce planning and management: dynamic work design and talent mobilisation with skills at the epicentre, further empowered by AI. We will see roles transcend to skills-based capability profiles continuously as AI absorbs tasks, and career marketplaces will start to match projects to talent based on skills, adjacencies, availability, and time-to-proficiency, which will accelerate staffing and professional mobility.
Autonomous career pathing will continue to emerge with improved precision and relevance. Employees will receive personalised, business-aligned progression paths, while leaders see workforce trends and trajectories for strategic planning. Policy-aware automation will ensure recommendations respect compliance and workforce policies by design, with auditable decisions. This will shift HR from maintaining structures to orchestrating a living system where skills, not job descriptions, are the atomic unit, and where AI continuously proposes the next best move for organisations and individuals alike.
2) Skills strategy and governance will be central to the business planning cycle
In the past, organisations often tried to capture every possible skill, resulting in overwhelming and unmanageable skill libraries. This approach diluted the impact of skills strategies and made it difficult to align talent development with business needs. In 2026, companies will focus on a core set of high-impact skills that truly drive performance and more clearly align with business operating plans.
AI will play a central role, not just in cataloguing skills but in making them actionable through agentic, conversational interfaces. Employees will interact with skills systems as part of their daily workflow and receive personalised coaching and development opportunities in real time. Skills management will become dynamic, measurable, and directly tied to organisational outcomes, moving learning from a separate activity to an integrated part of work.
3) The nature of AI-human collaboration will evolve
The integration of AI into everyday work will change how people collaborate and create. Rather than switching between multiple applications to complete tasks, more work will happen inside conversational AI environments that handle everything from data analysis to content creation. This will boost productivity and creativity for those who can leverage these tools, but it will also intensify skills gaps.
The digital literacy bar is rising, and basic computer skills are no longer enough. Those who can’t acquire these skills risk missing out on the professional growth and prosperity that AI offers, creating a divide between AI ‘superusers’ and the analogue workforce.
Furthermore, as AI becomes a more prominent collaborator, there’s a danger of reduced human interaction and collaborative ideation. Mismanaged AI can trap teams in an endless echo chamber of their own assumptions. If people rely solely on AI to validate ideas, organisations may lose the richness that comes from real human collaboration. Addressing these risks means investing in both technical and power skills. Organisations must cultivate critical thinking and judgement to challenge assumptions and ensure seamless AI-human collaboration.
4) Leadership and power skills will be non-negotiable
While technical skills and AI proficiency are becoming table stakes, the real differentiator for organisations will be leadership and power skills. Many managers have not been prepared to lead in this new environment, and organisations are struggling to scale leadership development effectively.
This year, the ability to think critically, drive accountability, and foster a positive culture will be essential. These skills are central to executing strategy and navigating rapid change. Companies must move beyond generic leadership programs and invest in structured, measurable approaches that tie leadership development to the skills that drive outcomes, as expressed in the operating plan of the business. This means defining what great leadership looks like, measuring it, and embedding it into every stage of the employee lifecycle. Organisations that prioritise and scale these power skills will be able to adapt and thrive amid ongoing disruption.
The future of the workplace
This year, organisations will take a seismic step from their legacy, static job architecture to forward-looking skills-based talent models powered by AI. Those that fail to recognise skills as the model for connecting their talent to business outcomes, while ensuring a seamless collaboration between humans and AI, risk falling behind. But the leaders who focus on high-impact skills, integrate learning into the flow of work, collaborate with AI, and scale leadership capabilities will turn disruption into advantage.
Mark Onisk is Senior Managing Director of Talent Strategy and Transformation at Skillsoft
