“Staying employable no longer depends primarily on what we learn in school and formal environments, but also on our ability to continuously learn, unlearn, and adapt.“
It was English naturalist and geologist Charles Darwin who once laid out this concept: “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
On 30 November 2022, ChatGPT was released to the general public, and the world has since then changed drastically. The sheer explosion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into all aspects of our lives is proof enough of this, and the names Siri, Alexa, Cortana, Copilot, and Gemini are now well known and used by many in their day-to-day lives. The stories of companies jumping onto the bandwagon of leveraging automation and AI multiply by the day, and the thought of AI taking over people’s jobs, once a distant thought relegated to science fiction, now hovers over many.
As we therefore find ourselves in an era getting more and more defined by the capabilities of digital transformation through generative and agentic AI, many find themselves asking the question: are we actually ready for what’s to come? What used to be a regular buzzword at HR events – upskilling – now takes on renewed importance, and equipping the workforce with the right skills is an even greater imperative than it was before. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 forecasts that by 2030, technological shifts will displace 92 million roles while creating 170 million new ones, resulting in a net gain of 78 million jobs, but only if workers are prepared to reskill and upskill continuously. For the Philippines, this challenge is even more acute: the same WEF report reveals that 68 percent of Filipino workers will need reskilling or upskilling by 2030, yet just 38 percent have actually completed any training so far.
This need to reskill (or upskill) also ties directly into Sustainable Development Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, which calls for a “sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all”. In the Philippines particularly, meeting SDG 8 requires closing the upskilling gap, improving access to lifelong learning, and aligning educational and corporate training with the evolving needs of a digital economy. So where does AI come in? The very technology threatening to disrupt millions of jobs worldwide is also actually revolutionizing how we can close said skills gap. AI-powered platforms are now able to deliver personalized, “bite‑sized” modules that fit into busy schedules, while generative AI tools offer on‑demand coaching and real‑time feedback. A classic example cited in LinkedIn’s 2025 Workplace Learning Report is the implementation of Visa to leverage AI for their sales teams, where AI-powered coaching has led to a whopping 78% increase in confidence among their sales personnel to talk about Visa’s products. Generative AI models can also now teach you how to code, become your language tutor, simulate being a behavioral interviewer, generate practice questions for certification exams, and role play difficult exams – all for free and from the comfort of your device or home.
Embracing a mindset to regularly upskill one’s self is thus even more crucial today because digital transformation and AI are going to continue to change the nature of work. Agentic AI, automation, and big data are now managing tasks that used to rely solely on human effort, from routine administrative work to more advanced functions like data analysis. As a result, many traditional skills are becoming obsolete faster than ever, while new skills, such as AI fluency, data literacy, digital collaboration, and complex problem-solving are in high demand. So what does this tell us? Staying employable no longer depends primarily on what we learn in school and formal environments, but also on our ability to continuously learn, unlearn, and adapt. Upskilling is no longer a “nice to have”, but a must-have for anyone who wants to stay relevant, competitive, and resilient in today’s rapidly evolving world of work.
Dr. Armando Ricardo J. Aguado is a Professional Lecturer at De La Salle University. He is a senior HR manager of Australia’s leading telecommunications company. For nearly two decades, he has held corporate roles in strategic HR management, business partnering, and organizational transformation, while educating young minds and taking the opportunity to also learn from the next generation of working professionals. He may be reached at armando.aguado@dlsu.edu.ph.
The perspectives shared in this piece are solely the author’s and do not necessarily represent the official views of De La Salle University, its faculty, or its administration.