Only 51% of employees have access to the learning and development resources they need, down from 59% a year earlier, according to PwC’s 2026 Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey. The study covered 49,364 workers across 48 countries and regions. While 61% of employees believe they can develop new skills, about half say they lack the resources to do so. The gap is sharpest among “engine room” workers, who make up 56% of the workforce and have less scarce skills and lower AI maturity; only two in five in this group report adequate learning support. AI use is rising: 64% of workers used AI at work in the past year, up 10 percentage points, and daily generative AI use climbed from 14% to 22%. Daily AI users report higher confidence in job security, promotions, and learning ability. PwC also identified four workforce groups, including front-runners (14%) with scarce skills and strong AI capabilities, nearly 29% of whom are likely to change employers within a year.
Only 51% of employees have access to the learning and development resources they need, down from 59% a year earlier, according to PwC’s 2026 Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey. The study covered 49,364 workers across 48 countries and regions. While 61% of employees believe they can develop new skills, about half say they lack the resources to do so. The gap is sharpest among “engine room” workers, who make up 56% of the workforce and have less scarce skills and lower AI maturity; only two in five in this group report adequate learning support. AI use is rising: 64% of workers used AI at work in the past year, up 10 percentage points, and daily generative AI use climbed from 14% to 22%. Daily AI users report higher confidence in job security, promotions, and learning ability. PwC also identified four workforce groups, including front-runners (14%) with scarce skills and strong AI capabilities, nearly 29% of whom are likely to change employers within a year.