78% of Australians using AI at work lack formal training, yet only 30% are concerned about the risks, according to the Hays Salary Guide FY26/27

Published: 28 May, 2026
 
New Hays research finds AI adoption is outpacing organisational readiness, with uneven training and inconsistent investment leaving parts of the workforce behind.
 
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 28 May 2026 – Australian professionals are rapidly adopting AI in their roles, but most are doing so without formal training or support, according to research from recruitment and workforce solutions specialists Hays.
 
The Hays Salary Guide FY26/27, Australia and New Zealand’s largest and most comprehensive review of salaries and workforce trends, drew on insights from more than 7,000 hiring managers and professionals. It found that 60% of respondents are using AI regularly at work, yet 78% report receiving no formal training from their employers.
 
Despite this, confidence remains high. Just 22% of professionals and 23% of employers are concerned about their organisation’s ability to adapt to AI and new technologies in the next one to three years, a disconnect that suggests many organisations are overestimating their readiness. Similarly, just 30% of professionals are quite or very concerned about the potential risks AI poses to future employment opportunities.
 
“AI adoption has outrun enablement,” said Matthew Dickason, CEO, Hays APAC. “60% of people are using AI regularly at work, yet 78% have had no formal training to use it effectively. The tools are on the desk; the training, governance, and guardrails haven't kept up. This isn’t an AI problem - it's a workforce planning problem.”
 

AI adoption is uneven, leaving parts of the workforce behind

At an organisational level, broad AI adoption remains limited. Just 13% of organisations say they have broad AI adoption across the organisation, with a majority (40%) saying they have moderate adoption across teams, followed by 35% who cite early exploration. The greatest barriers to AI adoption are security and privacy concerns (48%), followed by a lack of training (45%) and skills (33%).
 
Those least likely to be using AI include entry level and graduate professionals (26%), casual contractors and freelancers (46%), and workers aged 50 and above (23%). By industry, legal (32%) and manufacturing (29%) professionals are among the least likely to have adopted AI tools.
 
Training gaps are similarly concentrated. Professionals working in smaller organisations (with less than 50 people), on casual or temporary contracts, or in sectors including transportation (50%), the public sector (41%), utilities (38%) and manufacturing (32%) are among those least likely to have received any training or support.
 
Despite these gaps in AI capability, AI is not a defining factor when it comes to hiring decisions, with just 13% of employers considering it very or extremely important. Part of the challenge is that there is no agreed standard for demonstrating competency. When it comes to evidencing AI capability, 69% of hirers point to portfolio or practical examples, 52% to internal assessment and 49% to professional references, while 43% say none of the listed credentials suffice. This leaves AI competency largely open, creating an opportunity for employers to bring more structure to how they assess, develop and recognise AI skills. 
 

Skills shortages remain a persistent challenge

Alongside the race to adapt to AI, skills shortages continue to weigh on employers, with more than four in five employers (82%) reporting experiencing skills shortages over the past 12 months, just a 2% decline from 2025.
 
The most affected sectors include engineering (93%), trades and services (92%) and the public sector (90%), with the most commonly reported shortages including people management (24%), project management (22%) and communication and interpersonal skills (18%). High competition for talent (37%), followed by low salaries or unattractive benefits (31%), and low interest from younger generations in the sector (22%) are the primary causes.
 

Upskilling is a strategic priority, but delivery is inconsistent

While employers are using a mix of strategies to solve skills shortages, the data suggests a gap between workforce planning and execution.
 
Almost one-third of employers (32%) are hiring new talent to address skills gaps. However, a greater majority (52%) are looking internally, with 42% prioritising upskilling and 10% reskilling employees as their main strategy for addressing skills gaps.
 
Yet this internal approach is not being applied consistently, particularly in industries facing the most acute talent shortages. Industries reporting the highest levels of skills shortages are often the least likely to prioritise upskilling as their primary response. The gap is most pronounced in energy and renewables (84% reporting shortages vs 36% prioritising upskilling), not-for-profit (85% vs 38%), engineering (93% vs 48%), mining and resources (89% vs 50%) and the public sector (90% vs 51%).
 
Overall, 42% of employees say upskilling is not formally supported in their organisation or they are unaware of available options. Despite this, employees themselves are largely confident in their abilities. Nearly 6 in 10 (57%) are confident that their skills are relevant and up-to-date, highlighting a disconnect between perceived and actual capability.
 

Advice for employers

“82% of organisations are reporting a skills shortage yet 57% of employees believe their skills are current. Both can be true, the gap is often the conversations that aren’t happening between employers and their teams about where capability is needed, how roles are changing and what skills matter most. At the same timethe industries facing the most acute shortages are also the least likely to be investing in upskilling.  
 
This is where workforce planning needs to become more deliberate. Addressing these shortages requires a combination of targeted hiring and structured internal capability-building, alongside ensuring that investment reaches the casual, contract and smaller-employer parts of the workforce that have historically been left behind. said Matthew Dickason, CEO, Hays APAC.
 

Advice for professionals

“The pace of change means waiting for an employer to invest in you is a risky strategy.” said Matthew Dickason, CEO, Hays APAC.
 
“Whether it's building AI capability, sharpening core skills, or taking on something new, the people who treat their own development as their job will be the ones who move forward. The market is increasingly rewarding capability, not job titles.”
 
 
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About the study
The Hays Salary Guide FY26/27 is based on an online survey of more than 6,500 professionals across Australia and New Zealand, conducted between 6 February and 1 March 2026. Participants were recruited via the Hays database. A total of 5,223 respondents were from Australia. The research captures insights from both employees and those in hiring roles, and data was weighted to reflect the working population by age and gender.
 
Media contact
Archetype on behalf of Hays Australia: hays@archetype.co

About Hays

Hays plc (the "Group") is the world’s leading specialist in recruitment and workforce solutions, such as Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) and Managed Service Provider (MSP). The Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional, and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK, Germany, and Australia and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe, Latin America, and Asia. The Group operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. As of 30 June 2025, the Group employed over 9,500 staff operating from 207 offices in 30 countries.


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