AI Is Reshaping The Workforce—But Higher Ed Isn’t Preparing Students For It

What once felt like science fiction is now everyday reality: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics are rapidly transforming our world. AI now plays a transformative role across nearly every sector, from medicine and law to business, government, and education. Doctors are using AI to document patient records, support diagnoses, generate discharge instructions, and even translate languages. Lawyers are using it to draft contracts and analyze case law. In the corporate world, many businesses rely on AI for project management, strategic brainstorming, hiring, and customer service.

Even the public sector is fully engaged. Over half of government employees report using AI tools, according to one survey. The Food and Drug Administration leverages AI in its drug approval process. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is using AI to predict suicide risk for former military members. In December 2024, Congress released a bipartisan report with recommendations for federal agencies on AI deployment and oversight. AI is not just a tech buzzword—it’s an operational reality.

But there’s one major sector struggling to keep pace: higher education. And more specifically, graduate and professional schools.

Despite widespread student interest and use of AI—over half of medical students, for instance, reportedly use ChatGPT—most universities have yet to integrate meaningful AI instruction into their undergraduate and graduate curricula. Some institutions have no clear policies or faculty training; others are hesitant to embrace AI at all, viewing it as a threat to academic integrity. This creates a growing disconnect: industries are rapidly evolving to require AI fluency, yet many universities are not preparing their students to meet that demand and thus many students feel unprepared to use AI in the workplace. While the U.S. President recently signed an Executive Order emphasizing AI instruction in public K-12 schools, this does not include colleges and universities.

This lag is particularly alarming at the graduate school level, where students train to enter rapidly evolving fields such as medicine, law, education, and business. If institutions continue to vary widely in how (or whether) they teach AI skills, employers will face a fragmented talent pool—where some graduates are AI-savvy, and others are left behind not by choice, but by institutional lag.

Complicating matters further, some institutions that do support AI integration lack the resources to implement it equitably. Large-scale access to enterprise-level tools like ChatGPT, Claude, or Copilot can be costly for many underfunded colleges that serve large amounts of low-income students. This disparity threatens to deepen the digital divide in the workforce, privileging graduates of well-funded institutions while sidelining others through no fault of their own.

It’s not all bleak, however. A few states and universities are taking action. California recently announced a partnership with OpenAI to develop a custom version of ChatGPT for its public colleges and universities, coupled with free AI training for students and faculty. The University of Maine created a dedicated guide to help graduate students learn how to use AI effectively and ethically.

Leadership Brainery Founders Derrick Young Jr. and Jonathan Allen recently hosted Dr. Lynn Perry Wooten, President of Simmons University, on their live-audience show The Future at the Museum of Science. In their conversation, Dr. Wooten highlighted the urgent need for higher education leaders and students to embrace AI as a collaborative tool—one that allows for co-creation and co-authorship. But, she stressed, that kind of engagement requires proper training: students must learn to ask the right questions to help shape ethical, effective AI systems. She also acknowledged the inherent human biases within AI, underscoring the importance of emotional intelligence in its use, and encouraged educators to see AI not as a threat, but as a powerful catalyst for creativity.

These efforts and leaders offer models for others to follow. Still, with no federal standards or regulatory framework around AI education in higher ed, progress remains piecemeal. And as employers continue to integrate AI into every layer of their operations, they can’t afford to wait for the academic world to catch up.

That’s why employers must take the lead—not only in setting clear expectations around AI skills, but in ensuring that their hiring and training practices reflect the current educational landscape.

Recommendations for Employers

1. Don’t Penalize Lack of AI Skills
   Not all students have had equal access to AI instruction. A candidate’s unfamiliarity with a particular platform may reflect their institution’s limitations, not their aptitude. Use interviews and assessments to evaluate adaptability and critical thinking—skills that are often stronger indicators of AI fluency potential than technical familiarity alone.

2. Invest in Onboarding and Training
   Companies should provide structured, ongoing AI training for new and current employees. Just as employers once taught workers to use spreadsheets or customer relationship software, AI tools should be introduced with clear guidance on their capabilities and limitations.

3. Develop Clear AI Use Policies
   As AI use expands, so do the risks—such as misinformation, hallucinated citations, or data privacy breaches. Organizations must establish ethical guidelines, transparency requirements, and boundaries for acceptable AI use in the workplace.

4. Partner with Universities
   Employers can help shape AI education by collaborating directly with graduate programs. Share how your company is using AI, co-develop relevant curricula, or sponsor training initiatives. These partnerships ensure that academic programs remain aligned with real-world applications.

The future of work is unfolding faster than higher education can adapt—and graduate students, especially those from under-resourced institutions, are being left to navigate this new terrain alone. Without coordinated action, we risk deepening existing inequities and limiting who gets to lead in an AI-driven world.

Employers have a critical opportunity and responsibility to close this gap. By investing in AI training, rethinking hiring practices, and building partnerships with graduate programs, they can help ensure talent and potential aren’t lost to outdated systems.

At Leadership Brainery, we believe access to advanced education—and the tools to thrive in it—shouldn’t be a privilege. As we look ahead, the question isn’t whether AI will shape our future. It’s whether we’ll ensure that everyone has a fair chance to help shape it.

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