Half of Irish businesses are failing to proactively address workforce skills gaps despite increase in AI adoption, survey finds

• Learnovate’s annual Learning Signals Survey finds lack of time and resources is major barrier to upskilling teams
• Warning that lack of access to training will be detrimental to efforts to successfully implement AI

Learnovate is now warning that continuing to deploy AI without a parallel effort to increase access to learning and development could be detrimental to organisations’ efforts to successfully implement AI – a failing which could have consequences for the wider economy.

The Learnovate Learning Signals Survey is an annual poll of professionals in education, learning technology, business and other sectors. Some 225 professionals from various sectors responded to this year’s survey.

The survey found that of the Irish organisations that are failing to proactively address skills gaps in their workforce, one in four (24%) are responding reactively based on short-term need, one in six (15%) recognise their gaps but lack direction to address them, and one in ten (9%) do not view skills development as strategically important.

Just one in four (25%) reported that their organisation has a regularly updated, forward-looking skills strategy, while another one in four (25%) said their organisation was in the process of developing a strategy and experimenting with future-focused skills initiatives.

According to the research, a key obstacle to digital upskilling is time and resource constraints, with three quarters (74%) of respondents naming it among their top three barriers to learning and development.

The study also found that six in ten (60%) organisations are prioritising competing operational demands over learning and development. Respondents overwhelmingly reported this as the single biggest barrier to learning, followed by change fatigue (16%), and a failure by leadership to value learning (7%).

The Learnovate Centre is a leading global future of work and learning research hub funded by Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland and based at Trinity College Dublin. The centre’s Learning Signals Survey was designed to gain insight into the experiences of learning professionals and those who work in companies that create learning technology or content.

The Learning Signals Survey 2026 has revealed a significant shift in priorities across learning and development in Ireland.

In 2023, respondents ranked engaging learners as their biggest challenge. This year, managing technology and digital transformation is the most cited challenge (55%), while engaging learners (40%) has dropped to fourth behind budget and resource constraints (48%) and addressing skills gaps (43%).

Other key findings include:

• Three in ten (29%) are using AI in isolated pilots but not yet scaling or investing significantly, while more than one in four (27%) are experimenting cautiously
• Fewer than one in ten (8%) reported that they are yet to deploy AI but plan to do so in the next 18 months, while fewer than one in 20 (4%) have no plans
• The top three barriers to digital upskilling were time and resource constraints (74%), uneven digital fluency across the workforce (41%), and resistance to change (36%)
• Just one in four (25%) ranked a shortage of talent and specialist staff as one of their top three barriers to digital skills development
• More than three quarters (79%) said that making learning relevant to learners is the most important way to motivate them – an increase from 51% in 2023

 Nessa McEniff, Managing Director of The Learnovate Centre, said:

“The Learnovate Learning Signals Survey 2026 shows that almost half of organisations are not proactively addressing skills gaps, while time and competing operational demands are continuing to squeeze learning and development. If organisations want to realise the potential of AI, they need to make workforce development part of their AI strategy. Failure to do so carries risks for the organisation, their individual AI implementation projects, and the wider economy as the efficiency benefits of AI risk not being reflected in companies’ bottom line.

“AI adoption is accelerating, but the survey shows that organisations are not treating skills development as a priority. To maximise the potential of any technology, organisations must have skilled and confident people to use it effectively.”