Reskilled to Redundant?: When Human Upskilling Can't Outrun Automation
As AI advances, is human upskilling enough—or are workers being retrained for jobs that won’t exist?
Governments urge it. Companies fund it. Workers commit to it. Yet as automation accelerates, one question hangs in the air: Are we upskilling people just to make them redundant, only smarter?
From warehouse staff learning Python to project managers mastering prompt engineering, the workforce is chasing relevance in an economy that’s being rewritten by AI in real-time.
The Upskilling Boom
According to the World Economic Forum, 44% of workers’ core skills are expected to change within the next five years. Companies are pouring billions into training programs, and edtech platforms are booming with micro-credentials.
But even as skills evolve, so do the jobs themselves—often disappearing, merging, or becoming AI-led before humans can adapt.
Automation’s Moving Goalposts
Upskilling assumes a stable target. But with generative AI encroaching into everything from coding to design to legal analysis, what’s "in demand" today may be obsolete tomorrow.
“It’s like training people to build ladders while the staircase is already being 3D printed,” says Dr. Nisha Rao, a labor futurist at Oxford’s Internet Institute.
And unlike past industrial shifts, AI isn’t just replacing manual labor—it’s coming for white-collar, cognitive work too.
From Empowerment to Exhaustion
For many, the constant reskilling treadmill feels less like empowerment and more like survival. There’s pressure to keep pace with change—but little clarity on whether the finish line is even achievable.
A 2024 Gallup report found that 67% of workers who completed upskilling programs still feared job displacement by AI. That fear is becoming reality in industries like finance, marketing, and IT.
The New Skills Gap: Purpose
The question isn’t just can workers be retrained—it’s what for? We risk creating a generation of well-trained professionals for roles that don’t need humans anymore.
If upskilling doesn’t come with job guarantees, mobility, or meaning, are we really preparing people—or just delaying their obsolescence?
Conclusion: Rethinking What Work Is For
Upskilling alone won’t solve the disruption AI brings. What’s needed is a systemic rethink—of how we value labor, of which skills matter in a hybrid future, and of whether “reskilling” is the answer or a temporary distraction.
