The latest Essential Skills Tracker report highlights a significant risk of AI exacerbating existing inequalities if action isn't taken to build these core skills.
The research, based on a nationally representative survey of UK working adults conducted by YouGov, found a clear link between higher essential skill levels and the adoption of AI tools. Individuals with higher overall essential skill scores were significantly more likely to use AI frequently: moving from the lower to upper quartile skill score is associated with a 30% relative increase in AI usage at work. Creativity skills are a particularly strong precursor to AI use with levels 21% higher for those who are already using AI frequently.
The findings also underscore the economic benefits tied to both essential skills and AI proficiency:
- Essential Skills Wage Premium: Workers with higher essential skills earn significantly more, with those in the upper quartile earning between £3,700 and £6,100 more annually than those in the lower quartile.
- AI Wage Premium: Regular AI users earn an average of £8,300 more per year than peers with similar skill levels who don't use AI.
However, the report warns of an emerging "AI advantage gap." Those with higher essential skills are adopting AI faster and reaping the wage benefits, potentially deepening the "skills trap" where individuals from less advantaged backgrounds have fewer opportunities to build essential skills, leading to lower pay and slower AI adoption, further hindering social mobility.
"The question is no longer if AI will change the workplace, but how we equip people to thrive with it," said Tom Ravenscroft, CEO of Skills Builder Partnership. "Our research shows that transferable essential skills are enablers for using technical skills and tools like AI. Being able to think creatively, structure problems, work with other people and plan and adapt are only more important as AI tools are introduced. Essential skills enable individuals to adopt new technologies effectively, boosting earning potential while reducing the anxiety associated with rapid technological change. Investing in essential skills is vital for individual prosperity, business productivity, and national economic growth in the age of AI."
Further findings highlight the workforce's perspective on:
- Adapting to Change: 87% of UK workers agree that essential skills will help them adapt to using new technology, with 55% reporting they've already had to learn new technologies for their job in the past year.
- Wellbeing: While being required to use AI daily correlates with 43% higher anxiety levels, higher essential skills (particularly Adapting, Speaking, and Teamwork) are linked to reduced anxiety, acting as a crucial counterbalance.
- Worker Demand: Opportunities to build essential skills are highly valued, ranking just behind pay and flexible working as a key factor influencing job changes for 80% of those planning a move. Three-quarters (75%) want employers to use the Skills Builder Universal Framework for professional development.
- Job Security Perception: A significant disconnect exists, with 72% believing AI will replace other people's jobs, but only 19% thinking it will replace their own.
Skills Builder Partnership urges educators and employers to prioritise the explicit teaching and development of essential skills using consistent frameworks like the Universal Framework. This is crucial not only to harness the productivity potential of AI but also to ensure a more equitable and resilient workforce prepared for the future of work.
About the Essential Skills Tracker
The Essential Skills Tracker is an annual research series by Skills Builder Partnership assessing the essential skills of the UK working-age population. This year's report surveyed 2,114 UK adults (18-65) via YouGov Plc in January 2025, with weighted data representative of the UK. It is the first Tracker report to focus specifically on the relationship between essential skills and AI adoption.
About Skills Builder Partnership
Skills Builder Partnership unites educators, employers, and impact organisations around a common language and approach to building essential skills for everyone. We provide tools, resources, and programmes to systematically develop the eight essential skills crucial for success in education, work, and life. The approach reached more than 1.8million individuals across 20 countries last year, and has been widely adopted across the UK.