The future of AI skills: what to learn in 2026

With 2025 coming to an end, this article looks into 2026, highlighting the key skills that will be essential in the year ahead. Artificial intelligence is changing the way we work – and it is happening fast. We look into the biggest trends shaping industries and labour market, in-demand skills for the coming years, and conclude with a holiday-themed reading list. If you are eager to boost your skills even further, why not enrol in an AI course through the ARISA Academy?

Key trends

The Fearless Future: PwC’s 2025 Global AI Jobs Barometer documents key findings of an analysis that includes nearly a billion job ads and thousands of company financial reports across six continents. Most importantly, it highlights that AI makes workers notably more productive and more valuable. Over just two years, industries that made the greatest use of AI have increased their productivity and achieved 3x higher growth generated by each employee, suggesting that investing in AI pays off. The analysis shows that skills requested by employers are changing 66% faster in jobs most exposed to AI, such as financial analyst to least exposed, physical therapist – more than 2.5% compared to last year. According to the analysis, the wages are growing 2x faster in industries that are exposed to AI compared to the least exposed ones. As an example, wages are rising in highly automatable jobs such as customer service agent.
The analysis highlights that automation can affect job roles in different ways, ranging from positive outcomes – such as freeing workers from routine, automatable tasks – to negative impacts, including the displacement of workers from certain roles.

Shaping the Future of AI Talent in Europe: Strategies for Growth and Retention report, among other topics, addresses gender diversity in engineering across Europe. The report finds that engineering in Europe remains heavily male-dominated, with no country recording more than 23% women in the field. Furthermore, the Artificial Intelligence Index Report 2024 documents, in percentage terms, the share of women who completed master’s degrees in new informatics, computer science (CS), computer engineering (CE), and information technology (IT).
According to the report, the top three countries with the highest percentage of female graduates in 2024 were: Estonia (42%), Romania (42%), and Bulgaria (40%). These facts show that we still have work to do to achieve gender balance in the upcoming years.

AI talent: What the businesses will look for in 2026?

The PwC analysis shows that, across all industries, the share of roles requiring AI competencies is increasing, pointing to a rapid acceleration in the use of AI – including in sectors such as agriculture and construction, which are not traditionally associated with it. At the same time, the demand for AI skills is growing fastest in early-adopting industries such as information & communication, professional services, and financial services, suggesting that these sectors are already realising the benefits and are further scaling their investment in AI. Moreover, PwC’s 2025 Global CEO Survey reveals that, based on the responses from 4,701 CEOs across all regions of the world economy, the integration of artificial intelligence into business processes and workflows is perceived as the biggest priority over the next three years.

According to the LinkedIn Work Change Report: AI is Coming to Work, companies and leaders increasingly recognise the importance of AI upskilling. In 2025, 70% of HR professionals report that their organisations are prioritising internal upskilling initiatives, while 37% of C-suite executives see investment in AI training as essential to accelerating workforce adoption.

What are the in-demand skills for the upcoming years?

LinkedIn’s Work Change Report highlights that while AI is not a new phenomenon, its influence on the future of work is accelerating rapidly. Over the past eight years, global hiring for AI talent has grown by more than 300%, and relative to overall hiring, it has increased by 30% since autumn 2024. Although adoption is still in its early stages, professionals who embrace AI today are most likely to succeed in the years ahead.

According to the Shaping the Future of AI talent in Europe report, the EU AI sector shows strong demand for skills in Machine Learning, Big Data, and Computer Vision, with growing interest in Natural Language Processing and Deep Learning. Employers increasingly value professionals who combine strong mathematical and statistical foundations with practical programming and interdisciplinary expertise.

The report highlights that companies are likely to face growing skill mismatches, with strong future demand for advanced IT, data analytics, and scientific research (+34%) compared to more modest growth in basic IT skills (+15%). While currently high-demand skills such as advanced IT, engineering, and data analytics remain competitive, emerging needs include complex information processing, product design, and social-emotional skills. Higher-performing companies expect a greater rise in skill requirements (+30%) due to increased AI and automation investments.
By 2026, employers will seek professionals who can combine critical thinking & problem-solving, AI & data literacy, emotional intelligence, adaptability, continuous learning, creativity & innovation.

Interestingly, PwC’s 2025 Global AI Jobs Barometer indicates that the demand for formal degrees among employers is declining for most jobs and especially for AI-related ones. The potential causes are: AI helps people rapidly build and command expert knowledge which can make qualifications less relevant; fast skills change and knowledge turnover might mean that formal degrees are outdated. Therefore, the strong demand for people with AI skills may cause that employers look beyond a selected group with formal training. This process enables opportunities for those who lack the time or resources to gain formal degrees.

The LinkedIn report shows that communication remains one of the most in-demand skills, ranking as the top skill sought by employers in 2024. Organisations recognise that AI is most effective when guided and supported by collaborative human teams. The report also suggests that the future of work depends on continuous learning and upskilling, with AI becoming relevant to every job. As AI is increasingly integrated into daily tasks, professionals must develop broader skill sets, a trend reflected in a 40% expansion of skills added to profiles in 2024 compared to 2018.

Did you know?

LinkedIn’s Work Change Report: AI is Coming to Work highlights that the workplace today is almost unrecognisable compared to 2000.
Globally, more than 10% of workers hired today hold job titles that did not exist in 2000, such as data analyst, full-stack engineer, front-end developer, social media manager, and others.
According to the report, for most people, AI is not replacing their jobs but is expected to transform them, and their future roles may involve positions that do not yet exist. For example, the role of Artificial Intelligence Engineer is among the fastest-growing jobs in 15 countries and ranks number one in the Netherlands, the UK, and the US.

Christmas reading list

Now that you have made it to the end of this article, we would like to help you build a strong AI-skills foundation this winter. Combining technical, ethical, and strategic perspectives, we gathered a reading list for you.

The Alignment Problem: Machine Learning and Human Values by Brian Christian explores how our own biases, assumptions, and conflicting goals shape the technology we create. It combines insights from many fields to examine both our culture and our technology, revealing a story that is sometimes troubling but ultimately hopeful.

Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence by Max Tegmark dives into how artificial intelligence could shape the future of humanity. Max Tegmark looks at possible paths AI might take, from helpful and controlled to risky and unpredictable. The author asks how we can guide its development responsibly. The book explains the science in simple terms and focuses on the choices society must make to ensure AI helps humanity thrive.

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro follows Klara, an Artificial Friend designed to be a child’s companion, as she observes the world with curiosity and innocence. Through her perspective, the novel explores love, loneliness, and what it means to be human in a future shaped by technology.

AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future by Kai-Fu Lee and Chen Qiufan combines short fiction and expert analysis to imagine how artificial intelligence might shape everyday life by the year 2041. Each chapter pairs a story about a future scenario with an explanation of the real technologies behind it, offering an accessible look at the opportunities and challenges AI could bring to society.

Human Compatible: Artificial Intelligence and the Problem of Control by Stuart Russell examines the challenge of ensuring that advanced AI systems act in ways that align with human values. Stuart Russell argues that current AI approaches could become dangerous if machines pursue goals that don’t fully match what we intend. He proposes redesigning AI to be inherently uncertain about human preferences, making it safer and more cooperative. The book offers a clear, urgent look at how we can build AI that remains beneficial to humanity.

ARISA Academy

The ARISA Academy offers a free, online training programme designed for students, professionals, and educators. With seven expert-led courses, the Academy provides a structured learning path covering AI fundamentals, machine learning, cybersecurity, and more. Whether you’re looking to upskill, reskill, or enhance your curriculum, the ARISA Academy has something for you.

AI Career Guidance

If you’re exploring job opportunities, considering a career change, or simply seeking inspiration, check out our AI Career Guidance. You will find valuable tools and insights: from expert tips on standing out in the recruitment process to a mapping of job portals and first-hand advice from AI professionals.

Sources:

LinkedIn. (2024). The most in‑demand hard and soft skills for 2024. LinkedIn Talent Blog. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/business/talent/blog/talent-strategy/linkedin-most-in-demand-hard-and-soft-skills

LinkedIn Economic Graph. (2025). Work Change Report: AI is coming to work [Report]. LinkedIn. Retrieved from https://economicgraph.linkedin.com/research/work-change-report

LinkedIn. (2025). Skills that will matter most in 2026 [Article]. LinkedIn Pulse. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/skills-matter-most-2026-avua-international-pl0ic/

PwC. (2025). AI Jobs Barometer 2025 [PDF]. PwC. Retrieved from https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/issues/artificial-intelligence/job-barometer/2025/report.pdf

PwC. (n.d.). 2025 Global CEO Survey. PwC. Retrieved from https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/issues/c-suite-insights/ceo-survey.html

Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. (2024). AI Index Report 2024. Retrieved from https://hai.stanford.edu/ai-index/2024-ai-index-report

StepUp StartUps Consortium. (2025). Shaping and strengthening European AI talent: Strategies for growth and retention [Report]. Publications Office of the EU. Retrieved from https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/shaping-and-strengthening-european-ai-talent