Artificial intelligence may be transforming industries at record speed, but experts say the skills needed to thrive in the AI age are increasingly human, not technical.

“Curriculums can't catch up with technology - by the time something is approved, the world has moved ahead,” said Ahmed Al Shamsi, CEO of Emirates Foundation at the Abu Dhabi Global AI Summit. Preparing the next generation for the future of work must begin with mindset rather than machinery. “It starts with the mindset - how we prepare our youth to think differently, to question, to adapt.”

Al Shamsi warned against narrowing the concept of AI literacy to coding or software expertise.“We talk about AI as if it's a robot or chatbot. But it's much more - it's data, automation, decision-making. People think it's just ChatGPT, but that's just the surface.”

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Corporate leaders on the panel titled 'Tomorrow's Workforce Today' agreed that human skills such as creativity and teamwork will be the most valuable in the years ahead.“The real skills are human skills: communication, creativity, teamwork, and empathy,” said Naria Santa Lucia, General Manager at Microsoft Elevate.“Technology can learn to code faster than we do, but it can't connect or imagine the way humans can.”

IBM's Justina Nixon-Saintil said the rise of automation has already reshaped career entry points.“AI is changing the entry point into the workforce. Many entry-level tasks that used to give graduates experience - summarising data, preparing reports - are now automated. So, we have to rethink internships and on-the-job training.”

Lucia added that this change is also altering the traditional path to leadership.“Career ladders are no longer linear; you don't climb them one step at a time. You move sideways, you reskill, you adapt - and that's okay.”

Al Shamsi said the challenge for educators and policymakers is to foster adaptability rather than over-specialisation.“We don't need everyone to be a data scientist,” he said.“We need problem solvers, communicators, people who can use these tools wisely.”

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