How Critical to the Global Economy is AI Skills Training?

AI and robotics are set to shrink some industries while growing others, according to Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England. 

Speaking in Saudi Arabia at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies 2026, Andrew discussed the economic impact of AI alongside fellow governors from nations including Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Armenia, Egypt and Poland.

He said: "AI is likely to reallocate jobs between sectors. Some industries might shrink, others grow."

Which industries will be impacted?

Amid AI's widespread implementation, Andrew highlighted that "affected workers will need to retrain to adapt their skills".

He added: "In the UK, in the last three years new online vacancies in the most AI-exposed roles have decreased by more than twice as much as in the least exposed group. But, on the positive side, there has been an observed significant increase in new tasks such as integrating AI tools into firms workflow processes."

A Microsoft report released in December 2025 ranks the 40 jobs most AI-applicable and the 40 jobs least AI-applicable.

The top five in the list are:

1. Interpreters and Translators
2. Historians
3. Passenger Attendants
4. Sales Representatives
5. Writers and Authors

Microsoft notes in its paper: "There are at least two different ways occupations could change as a result of AI: (1) delegating some tasks to AI, freeing up workers to focus on different parts of the job, corresponding to high AI action applicability, and (2) performing the same tasks but in collaboration with AI."

Andrew mentioned this in his speech, explaining how AI and robotics will likely influence the labour market, pointing to "productivity augmentation" in the workplace – in other words, "increasing productivity by automating repetitive tasks, freeing labour up for other high-value activities".

Andrew continued: "If firms use these gains to expand production, this can increase the demand for labour in non-automated tasks."

AI training for the UK population

The concept of utilising AI for routine tasks and instead creating more highly-skilled jobs is something the UK Government endorses, having recently launched free AI training courses for work.

It comes in a bid to upskill 10 million people in the field of AI amid increasing adoption in many industries. The government plans to make Britain the fastest AI-adopting country in the G7.

The courses, which are designed to give both workers and employers confidence in AI skills, are available on the Government's AI skills hub and are open to all UK adults online.

Liz Kendall, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Tehnology, said: "We want AI to work for Britain and that means ensuring Britons can work with AI. Change is inevitable, but the consequences of change are not."

Stock market losses

Andrew's speech at AlUla followed a damaging week for Big Tech, as the world's largest technology copanies saw more than US$1tn wiped from their stocks. 

Software stocks were hit particularly hard, with NVIDIA topping the list, experiencing a 13% decline in its share price.

It came as Anthropic released its newest model, Claude Opus 4.6, which has capabilities to automate many work processes, including analysing complex information, in addition to drawing up presentations and spreadsheets.

In its December 2025 Financial Stability Report, the Bank of England warned that valuations were "particularly stretched" for companies focused on AI – reminiscent of the pre-dotcom bubble era.

It also expressed concern that trillions of dollars in debt are funding AI infrastructure, which could severely impact financial stability for companies adopting it at significant levels.

Andrew added at AlUla that sustaining growth and financial stability will require innovation, openness, international cooperation and strong global institutions.