AI Expert Lists 7 Skills Gaps You Haven’t Heard About In 2025
Career advancement feels more uncertain than ever. While everyone talks about learning to code or mastering the latest software, a deeper problem lurks beneath the surface. According to ADP’s “People at Work 2025” report, only 24% of workers globally believe they have the skills needed to advance to the next job level in the near future. That means three out of four professionals feel stuck, not because they lack ambition, but because the rules of the game have changed faster than they can keep up.
The shift has to do with how AI adoption, digital transformation, and globalization have created entirely new skills gaps that most people don’t even know exist yet.
“We’re seeing a fundamental reshaping of what makes someone valuable in the workplace,” says Steve Sanford, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Simulus AI, a company that combines over 35 years of film and TV production expertise with advanced AI to create human digital twins for enterprise video content. “The professionals and companies that recognise these emerging gaps, and act on them now, will have a significant competitive advantage.”
Here, Sanford breaks down seven under-discussed skills gaps created by this new era, why they matter, and how you can position yourself to capitalise on them before your competition does.
The 7 Skills Gaps Redefining Career Success
1. AI Literacy and Prompt Engineering
Knowing how to use AI tools isn’t enough anymore. The real gap is understanding how to communicate with AI systems effectively. Prompt engineering has become a skill unto itself. Whether you’re using ChatGPT for content creation, Midjourney for design, or any other AI platform, the quality of your prompts determines the quality of your results.
“Most people think AI will replace jobs, but what’s actually happening is that AI is creating a new layer of work,” Sanford explains. “The people who can bridge the gap between human intention and machine capability will be invaluable.” Companies that invest in AI literacy training now will see their teams work faster and smarter. For individuals, developing this skill opens doors to roles that didn’t exist five years ago.
2. Multilingual Content Creation and Cultural Localisation
Global reach used to require massive budgets and localisation teams. Now, AI can generate content in over 100 languages, but there’s a catch. Translation isn’t the same as localisation. Understanding cultural nuances, regional humor, and local sensitivities remains deeply human work. The gap exists at the intersection of language skills and cultural intelligence. Professionals who can create content that resonates across borders or oversee AI-generated content to ensure it does are increasingly rare and valuable.
“We can create digital twins that speak any language, but knowing what to say and how to say it in each culture? That still requires human expertise,” says Sanford. “The companies succeeding here are the ones pairing AI’s speed with human cultural insight.”
3. Cross-Cultural Communication and Negotiation
As remote work becomes permanent and teams span continents, the ability to communicate and negotiate across cultures has shifted from nice-to-have to necessary. This involves understanding different business practices, communication styles, and decision-making processes. Professionals usually assume they can handle cross-cultural situations because they’ve travelled, or worked with diverse teams. But effective cross-cultural negotiation requires deliberate skill-building: learning to read indirect communication, navigate hierarchical differences, and build trust across cultural boundaries.
4. Creative Strategy in an AI-Driven World
AI can generate blog posts, design mockups, and even video content. What it can’t do (at least not yet) is develop the overarching creative strategy that makes those outputs meaningful. Storytelling, brand positioning, and emotional resonance are human domains.
“Companies have all this AI-generated content, but often no coherent strategy tying it together,” Sanford notes. “The creatives who can think strategically about how to use AI as a tool, rather than a replacement, are the ones companies are fighting to hire.” This means understanding your audience on a deeper level, crafting narratives that build connections, and actually knowing when AI-generated content serves your goals.
5. Data Ethics and Responsible AI Use
As AI becomes embedded in daily operations, questions about data privacy, algorithmic bias, and ethical use multiply. Yet few professionals have training in data ethics. Companies face real risks (from PR disasters to legal liability) if they deploy AI without considering ethical implications. The skills gap here is twofold: understanding the technical aspects of how AI systems use data, and having the judgment to evaluate whether those uses are appropriate. “We’re in an era where trust is everything,” says Sanford. “Companies that prioritise ethical AI use will differentiate themselves, but they need people who understand both the technology and the ethics.” For professionals, developing expertise in data ethics and responsible AI creates opportunities in compliance, risk management, and strategic planning roles.
6. Human-AI Collaboration Management
Managing people is hard enough. Managing teams where some members are human and some are AI systems? That’s a whole new challenge. Yet this is increasingly the reality in customer service, content creation, data analysis, and more. The gap is in knowing how to delegate tasks between humans and AI, measure performance across both, and optimise workflows that involve both types of intelligence. It requires the rare combination of technical understanding and strong people management skills.
7. Digital-First Leadership Skills
Leadership in remote or hybrid environments demands different capabilities than traditional office-based management. Digital-first leaders need to build culture through screens, maintain team cohesion across time zones, and make decisions with less face-to-face context.
“The leaders thriving now are digitally native in their approach to building relationships and driving results,” Sanford observes. “They understand presence doesn’t mean being in the office, and that trust is built through communication patterns, not proximity.”
This includes mastering asynchronous communication, using data to measure engagement and productivity, and creating inclusive environments for distributed teams.
The next decade belongs to professionals who can blend human judgment with technological capability. We’re moving past the either-or mindset, where either you’re a tech person or you’re not, and into an era where the most valuable skills sit at the intersection of multiple disciplines.
The people who can combine AI literacy with cultural intelligence, creative strategy with data ethics, and technical knowledge with leadership ability will define what success looks like. This is all about developing enough fluency across these areas to connect dots that others miss. Companies that encourage this kind of hybrid skill development will build competitive advantages that are hard to replicate.
The skills gaps we’re seeing today are really opportunities in disguise, for individuals willing to learn and organisations willing to invest in their people’s growth.