According to the World Economic Forum, 39% of key job skills will change by 2030. LinkedIn estimates that 70% of the skills used in most jobs will change over the same period. For employers, that means the challenge isn't simply identifying which AI skills to hire for—it's building a workforce capable of adapting as those skills evolve.
In a recent piece, Brittany Murrey, EVP of Talent Solutions at Per Scholas, argues that adaptability and a learning mindset are becoming more durable workforce advantages than expertise in any individual tool or technology.
The Readiness Gap Is a Learning Gap
As AI changes the skills required across industries, employers often frame their challenge as a technical skills shortage. But the deeper issue may be whether organizations are identifying and developing people who can continuously learn, respond to feedback, and change how they work as technology evolves.
A learning mindset means treating unfamiliar problems as opportunities to learn rather than barriers. For employers, that requires looking beyond credentials and existing technical knowledge to understand how candidates respond when they don't already have the answer.
What Employers Should Look For
Murrey outlines several ways employers can identify a learning mindset during the hiring process. Asking candidates to describe a time they were wrong can reveal how they respond to feedback and reassess their thinking. Looking at learning velocity can surface candidates who have demonstrated the ability to quickly master unfamiliar domains, even when that experience isn't reflected in a traditional résumé.
Work samples can also show how candidates approach unfamiliar problems in real time—whether they know how to find information, experiment, ask for help, and recover when an approach doesn't work. These behaviors may offer a stronger signal of future adaptability than familiarity with a particular AI tool.
Building a Culture That Keeps Learning
Hiring adaptable people is only part of the equation. Organizations also need cultures where continuous learning is supported rather than penalized.
That means creating space for employees to acknowledge what they don't know, seek feedback, experiment with new approaches, and learn collaboratively. Leadership plays a central role: when leaders model curiosity and continued learning, they establish the conditions for employees to do the same.
The organizations best positioned for the pace of AI won't necessarily be the ones that correctly predict every skill they'll need next. They'll be the ones that build teams and cultures capable of learning faster than the technology change