A new study by Workera shows that 80 percent of companies believe they are on track to integrate AI into their operations by 2026, up from 67 percent last year. However, the research also highlights a growing gap between corporate goals and employee readiness. Many workers are not getting the support or resources needed to develop AI-related skills. According to the "State of Skills Intelligence 2026" report, nearly 56 percent of employees don’t have enough time during work hours to upskill, and almost 43 percent say they lack proper training materials to improve their AI abilities. The use of AI tools by employees has also risen sharply. More than two-thirds (67.8 percent) of workers are now using AI tools other than ChatGPT at least twice a week, up from 39.9 percent last year—a nearly 30 percent increase. However, despite this growth, most employees are spending five hours or less per week on AI-related training, with 84.3 percent reporting this low level of engagement. Kian Katanforoosh, founder and CEO of Workera, stressed the need for companies to give employees both time and psychological safety to experiment with AI. He noted that AI training is shifting from simply getting access to tools toward achieving results and taking action, which can increase stress for workers. While nearly six in ten employees said they had received specific AI training in the past year, many still lack the resources and time to apply AI effectively in their jobs. About 46.5 percent of employees used non-company-provided tools to build their AI skills, with 74.6 percent using widely available tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. Katanforoosh suggested that companies could help close the skills gap by clearly defining what it means for an organization to be “AI-ready.” He also recommended implementing skill evaluation systems that reward employees with greater access to AI tools as their abilities grow. The study also found that most employees believe they can perform their jobs better than AI, with only 9.5 percent thinking AI could do more than half of their work. Many believe the human element will remain essential in leveraging AI for professional growth. Only 7 percent of respondents felt AI could evaluate skills better than humans, and nearly 38.5 percent believe AI will never surpass humans in this area.