By Patrick Kidd OBE OAM, CEO, Future Skills Organisation
September 2026
The clearest message from the National AI Skills Forum, hosted by FSO and the National AI Centre in Canberra last month, was that the challenge is no longer the technology. It’s capability.
AI is becoming increasingly accessible, but access alone does not create value. Value is created when people have the judgement, confidence and skills to use these tools effectively in the context of their work.
There was broad agreement across government, industry, unions and education on the destination. Australia needs a workforce capable of working with AI. The challenge is getting there. The task in front of us is not invention. It’s coordination. We do not need to wait for perfect technology, complete certainty or universal agreement. The pace of change simply will not allow it.
Patrick Kidd at the National AI Skills Forum 2026
No single part of the system can solve this alone. Governments, employers, educators and unions each have a critical role to play. Governments must support adoption while ensuring inclusion. Employers must treat workforce capability as an investment, not a compliance exercise. Educators must deliver learning at a pace that matches technological change. Unions must help workers navigate transition with confidence and ensure the benefits of AI are broadly shared.
Importantly, Australia does not lack learning opportunities. The AI training landscape is extensive, spanning universities, VET providers, industry programs, technology vendors and online platforms. The challenge is that these efforts remain fragmented and are not yet aligned around a common understanding of the capabilities workers need.
That is why Australia needs a common language for AI capability, supported by a practical capability framework and nationally recognised learning pathways. Such a framework would help employers, workers, educators and governments consistently describe capability, identify skills gaps, compare learning options and target investment where it will have the greatest impact.
Vocational education and training has a central role to play. VET provides a national mechanism for translating capability requirements into recognised workplace outcomes, connecting industry demand with practical learning, and supporting lifelong skill development. It can provide the backbone of a more coordinated capability system while remaining open to recognising high-quality learning wherever it occurs.
The Forum reinforced a simple reality: this is the slowest pace of technological change any of us will experience for the rest of our working lives. Australia has the foundations, the institutions and the expertise needed to respond. What is needed now is implementation. Not another discussion about why AI matters, but a shared commitment to build the workforce capability that will determine whether its benefits are realised.
Many of the themes discussed here are explored in greater detail in our insights paper, It’s No Longer If or When, But How: Insights from the National AI Skills Forum 2026. It brings together seven key insights on AI capability, workforce readiness and the actions needed to support adoption at scale.