AI Growth Outpaces Skills Acquisition in Australia, According to Google & Accenture

Research from Google and Accenture Sugges That an Increasing Number of Australians and Businesses are using artificial intelligence, which may not come as a Surprise. However, there is a significant disparity in the number of employees who feel equipped to use ai, and what C-SUTE EXECUTES PERCEVES PERCEVES PERCEVES
Google Pollled 1,000 Australians and Found That 49% Used Generative Ai In the Last Year, Up from 38% in 2023. This Rise is Accompanied by a New Level of Optimism. The proportion of people who believe ai will benefit them increase by 6%, and the percentage who thought it will change work for the better with years by 7%.
Accenture Surveyed 790 C-Suite Executives and 687 Non-C-Suite Level Employees Across Across Five Asia Pacific Countries, Including Australia, For Its Pulse of change reportA Whopping 87% of the leaders said they planned to boost their ai investment in 2025, and 91% believe their employees are ables are able to use the technology efficiently.
Employees Feel differently, Thought: Only 70% feel prepared to make the most of ai at work. Furthermore, just 30% of them claim to understand the potential value of genai “to a great extent,” Compared to 55% of Apac C-Suite Leaders.
While 70% of Workers Feel they have received adequate ai training, 91% of C-Suite Leaders believe their employees are set up to use it. This sugges the ai training being provided may not meet employees’ specific needs.
See: Australian it skills shortage and self-upskilling
The Accenture Research also look at Employees’ Concerns Around Ai, which may shine light on the area where training should be focused. Non-Russars of AI at Work Cite Concerns about Inaccurax (27%), Lack of Resources (26%), and Integration Struggles (22%).
AI Skilling has been identified as a key gap in australia, with many employees consistently saying The Country Needs 312,000 Additional Tech Workers by 2030 to Meet Demand, or more than 60,000 new entrants annually in the tech workforce.
In December, Australia Announced Plans to Develop a National Ai Strategy to Strengthen Its AI Capabilities and Attract Investments, Aiming to Unlock the $ 600 billion of Producity Potential of the theSE THELOGIES. Microsoft Alaso Committed to Equipping One Million People Across Australia and New Zealand with Essential Ai Skills by 2026.
Matt coates, Technology Lead for Access in Australia and New Zealand, said a press release: “Too many organizations View generative ai solely as a technologist Ent Strategies.
“While Investments in AI Continue to Grow, Many Still Face Significant Challenges in Understanding, Training, and Implementation.”
AI skills gap should be addressed to prepare for continuous change
Both reports sugges that Australian businesses are aware that changes related to ai adoption are ongoing. Google’s survey found that 54% of Workers Hope that Automation will free them up to focus on more rewarding work, but 46% day
Over time, Australians are gotting more optimistic, confirming that certain aspects of ai doomerism was overblown. For institution, the portion of respondents who think that jobs and industry will change for the better with the next five years Thanks to Ai Increased by 7% in a year.
Fewer Australians Now Think their roles will be absorbed by ai, with the percentage dropping from 20% in 2023 to 12% in 2024.
“IT’s Incredible to See Australia Move Beyond Experimentation to Action, Harnessing Ai To Create Real-World Benefits-and it’s exciting to think about the potential benefits to our eco Irector of Google Australia and New ZealandIn a blog post.
See: 5 generative ai trends to watch in 2025
The Accenture Respondents also predict shifts, with 79% of Employees believing their roles will be impacted, and 69% of execuaves anticipating a higher level of change in 2025 IR Organizations are Less Prepared for Such Change this year than last.
Specifically, the executives say they are not prepared for geopolitical (66%), talent (58%), and economy (63%) disruptions. Workers Agree, with 68% Unconvined of their company’s resilience. This emphasizes how addressing the Aforemined skills gap should be a priority.
“Only a third of executives have a clear vision for how generative ai will IMPACT their workforce,” Coates Said. “This emphassies the importance of a strategic approach that harmonizes technology and human talent to full realise the power of reinvection that gen ai provides.”