Australian workers fear AI 'skills cliff' as training lags

New survey data from Randstad suggests many Australian workers expect artificial intelligence to reshape job security and career prospects within the next five years, but fewer say they have received training on the tools being adopted at work.

Randstad's Workmonitor Pulse survey found 32% of Australians are worried their job will disappear due to AI in the next five years. A similar share said their job prospects have worsened compared with a year ago because of AI.

The report also highlights a perception gap between workers and employers on AI readiness. Fewer than half of workers surveyed (48%) said they have received training on the AI tools likely to change their jobs. Employers reported higher preparedness, with 56% saying their workforce has been trained to manage AI-driven change.

Employers also reported early benefits from adoption: 60% said AI is already boosting productivity.

Training gap

Amelia O'Carrigan, Randstad's Director of Public Sector and Business Support, warned job insecurity could rise if training does not keep pace with technological change.

"Our latest Workmonitor Pulse data should act as a warning that we may be heading towards an AI skills cliff where employers are moving quickly to adopt AI, but many workers haven't been given the training to keep up."

The survey also found scepticism about who benefits most from workplace AI. Almost half of respondents (47%) said adoption will primarily benefit companies rather than employees, including 20% who strongly agreed and 27% who agreed.

Among employers, nearly two thirds said their business could do more to invest in AI skills development: 20% agreed and 43% somewhat agreed.

Confidence levels

Randstad's data suggests Australian workers feel less confident about an AI-augmented future than peers elsewhere. Worker confidence was 63%, compared with a global average of 69%.

O'Carrigan linked lower confidence to lack of training.

"Without proper training, AI doesn't boost productivity; it erodes confidence. Companies need to focus on narrowing this gap, otherwise we'll begin to see job insecurity take hold," she said.

Concern about job losses varied by age. Millennials were the most worried (37%), followed by Gen X (33%), Gen Z (28%), and Baby Boomers (22%).

The findings come as Australian workplaces report job changes linked to AI investment. Randstad highlighted the case of Natalie, a 36-year-old mother of two from Sydney who spent seven years at a global technology company in a role drawing on journalism and media skills. She received a 1am email advising of company-wide cuts linked to investment in AI.

According to information provided alongside the survey results, Natalie used her redundancy payout to start a consultancy focused on mothers and carers navigating career changes.

Broader context

Randstad linked its findings to the World Economic Forum's The Future of Jobs Report 2025, which found AI and big data will be the fastest-growing core skills through to 2030. The report also lists analytical thinking, creative thinking, resilience, flexibility and agility, and technological literacy as skills expected to remain in high demand.

The World Economic Forum called for reskilling and upskilling strategies to bridge divides and help workers move into roles that combine technical expertise with human-centred work.

O'Carrigan said the consequences of failing to upskill could be abrupt once AI becomes part of everyday roles.

"This is a problem that businesses can't afford to ignore. Once AI becomes embedded in everyday roles, workers who haven't been upskilled don't gradually fall behind; they fall off a cliff," she said.

Randstad said the issue is manageable with more structured training and support from employers, alongside active adaptation by workers. "Labour markets are under immense pressure, and it will be those that adapt that will succeed," O'Carrigan said.

The Workmonitor 2025 research covered 27,062 workers and 1,225 employers across 35 markets, including Australia, with fieldwork conducted in October 2025. Randstad partnered with Evalueserve and compiled secondary data from more than 3 million job postings through its market intelligence unit.