Why You Should Put Experienced Talent at the Center of your AI Strategy – Part 1
Generative AI is transforming the way we work, create and compete. From streamlining operations to sparking innovations, AI is quickly becoming a foundational part of nearly every industry. But amidst the excitement, one critical workforce group has largely been left out of the conversation: mid-career and older workers.
Too often, these professionals are viewed as less adaptable and less willing to embrace emerging technologies. That narrative is outdated and economically shortsighted. In fact, this group is uniquely equipped to lead in the age of AI.
AI Is Creating a Premium Market for Skills
Generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Copilot, and Claude are not just transforming how teams work; they’re reshaping our labor market.
Employers are increasingly seeking and valuing “AI-literate” workers. AI-related skills are in 3.5 times greater demand than other job skills. And when they find those workers, they are willing to pay. A recent PWC report found a 56% wage premium for AI skills, comparing workers in the same job with and without AI skills. That is up from 25% just last year.
The demand for AI-literate workers is not limited to engineers or data scientists. Employers are increasingly seeking these skills in non-technical roles, such as marketing, finance, logistics, healthcare, and HR.
AI Skills Go Beyond the Technical
Companies aren’t just looking for technical experts when they seek AI-literate workers. They need employees who can utilize AI to address business challenges and those who can effectively integrate AI tools into their day-to-day workflows, whether writing content, automating business processes, or managing human-AI collaboration. These are roles where experience matters deeply. The most valuable AI talent puts “humans-in-the-loop” blending technical fluency with strategic thinking, judgment and creativity. That’s where mid-career and older workers have a distinct edge.
Why Mid-Career and Older Workers Have an Advantage
Mid-career and older workers possess several key strengths that give them an edge in today’s AI-powered workforce:
- Deep Industry Knowledge: Seasoned professionals have a rich understanding of business operations, customer behavior and decision-making processes. Mid-career and older workers can use their industry expertise to more strategically harness the power of AI. They know the questions to ask and prompts to input to get the most out of Gen AI.
- Problem Solving & Adaptability: Many mid-career and older workers are experienced in navigating change. Over the last decade, workers have transitioned to a fully digital, virtual environment, adapted to global supply chain disruptions and weathered economic downturns. These experiences have equipped them with the skills to develop solutions and overcome challenges in rapidly changing environments.
- Human Judgement: Despite rapid advancements, AI tools cannot replicate the judgment, contextual awareness or empathy of a human being. AI systems can produce hallucinations, such as inaccuracies, biases or inappropriate results, if not carefully supervised. Workers with real-world decision-making experience are crucial for auditing AI outputs, refining prompts and establishing boundaries, particularly in high-stakes fields such as healthcare, law, education and government.
So, what is holding many companies back from integrating older workers into their AI talent plans and how do we overcome those challenges? Stay tuned for Part 2 of this series which discusses the challenges and solutions to unleash the potential of your mid-career and older workers.
