As artificial intelligence becomes embedded across roles, workflows, and decision-making, organisations face a critical but often underexplored question: who is truly ready to work effectively alongside AI? While many organisations focus on AI tools, adoption rates, or technical training, evidence increasingly suggests that sustainable value from AI depends on the human skills that enable people to apply technology with judgment, creativity, and responsibility.
The objective of this presentation is to introduce a science-based perspective on human readiness for AI-enabled work, drawing on emerging global research on the Superworker and large-scale skills analytics. The session aims to help psychologists and talent leaders move beyond AI hype toward a more rigorous understanding of the behavioural capabilities that underpin productivity, innovation, and ethical AI use in practice.
The research problem addressed is the growing disconnect between AI strategy and workforce capability. Organisations often assume readiness based on access to technology or exposure to AI tools, yet struggle to explain uneven adoption, limited productivity gains, or resistance to change. This gap reflects a deeper issue: readiness for AI is not primarily technical, but behavioural.
The theoretical foundation for this work draws on contemporary models of skills-based work design and human-AI collaboration. The Superworker is defined as an individual who integrates digital, technical, and human skills to amplify performance in modern organisations. This concept has been translated into a set of durable, role-agnostic behavioural skills that indicate readiness to thrive in AI-enhanced environments, grounded in established people science and competency frameworks.
Methodologically, the insights shared are informed by global analysis of skills data from nearly one million individuals across industries, regions, and job levels. This approach enables objective, comparable insight into behavioural readiness for AI, independent of job title, seniority, or current AI usage. Importantly, the focus is on underlying behaviours rather than technical expertise or tool proficiency.
The presentation explores how this problem is being addressed in practice through a structured AI readiness approach that organisations are using to inform talent strategy, workforce planning, and development decisions. Selected global and local examples illustrate how measuring human readiness enables organisations to de-risk AI transformation, identify development priorities, and support fairer, more transparent talent decisions without relying on intuition or self-report alone.
Key findings indicate that approximately one-third of the global workforce currently demonstrates Superworker-level readiness, highlighting both a significant capability gap and a strategic opportunity for organisations willing to invest in human capability alongside technology. The implications for psychologists and talent leaders are clear: AI transformation is fundamentally a people transformation, and success depends on the ability to measure, develop, and mobilise the human skills that allow AI to deliver real value.
Salome Jansen van Vuuren is SHL’s sole Senior Solution Architect (Pre-Sales) for Africa and an Industrial-Organizational Psychologist specialising in skills-based talent strategies, workforce transformation, and AI-enabled people solutions. She partners with organisations across Africa and globally - from emerging businesses to complex multinational enterprises - to translate people science and workforce data into practical, future-ready talent strategies. Salome is an active thought leader in the future of work, has collaborated with the United Nations in Africa on inclusive workforce initiatives, and brings a strongly human-centred lens to transformation grounded in evidence, empathy, and impact.
Gwendoline Long is Head of Global Professional Services Solutions at SHL and a registered Psychometrist (Independent Practice) with over 22 years of consulting experience in Occupational Psychology. She holds Level A and B psychometric certifications and has deep expertise in competency design, job profiling, psychometric assessment, and talent management implementation. In her global role, Gwendoline leads the development of SHL’s Professional Services best-practice knowledge base and implementation standards, ensuring rigorous, ethical, and scalable application of people science across clients worldwide.
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