Your Team is Using AI. Who is actually Training them?
Most Australian employees are already using AI, but formal training lags dangerously behind. Explore why traditional L&D is failing and how agile innovators are setting a new benchmark for a future-ready workforce.
The Hidden Revolution Happening in Your Workplace
There’s a quiet but grand shift happening across Australian workplaces. While leadership teams discuss AI strategies in certain boardrooms, some if not most of their employees are already on the front lines. A recent Microsoft report revealed a startling truth: 79% of Australian workers are already using AI.
They’re using it to draft emails, summarize reports, and generate ideas. They are learning, adapting, and creating new workflows on the fly. This isn’t a problem; it’s a massive, untapped opportunity. But it begs a critical question for every L&D, HR, and business leader: if your people are already running, is your formal training program still learning to walk?
We see headlines about giants like Commonwealth Bank of Austrlia and Telstra making billion-dollar AI investments which is amazing! Their scale allows them to build comprehensive, long-term programs. But the real story, the one that holds the most immediate lessons for us, is often happening at a different level.
The Unlikely Pioneers: How Small Teams and Individuals are Leading the Charge
The true pioneers of this new learning paradigm aren’t always the ones with the biggest budgets. They are the agile marketing agencies, the nimble tech startups, and the forward-thinking individuals who have embraced AI not as a distant threat, but as a daily partner.
Why are they so effective? Because they operate on a simple, powerful principle: learn by doing.
A 30-person company doesn’t need a year-long strategy to adopt a new AI tool. They can pivot their entire workflow in a week. Their “training” is a continuous loop of experimentation, sharing prompts in a Slack channel, and discovering what works in real-time. They aren’t waiting for a formal curriculum to be built; they are the curriculum.
This agile approach reveals a fundamental truth about AI: its greatest initial gift is the return of time. As I explored in my previous post, Beyond the Hype: How AI is Delivering Real Value and Reshaping Work. AI automates the mundane, freeing up precious hours.
And here is a powerful hint for every organisation: what are your people doing with that reclaimed time? Are they simply closing their laptops earlier, or are they reinvesting it into higher-value activities—like deeper critical thinking, strategic collaboration, and continuous learning?
Without a guiding framework, that priceless opportunity for growth risks being lost.
Is your Organisation’s L&D Strategy an Anchor or an Engine?
This new reality puts traditional L&D models under an uncomfortable spotlight. The old world of static, annual training plans feels like an anchor in an ocean of rapid change.
If the current approach at your organisation is still focused on generic eLearning modules and periodic workshops, you are not equipping your people for the workplace they inhabit today, let alone the one they will face tomorrow. You are building a workforce that knows how things were done, while agile innovators are mastering how things will be done.
The challenge isn’t a lack of information. It’s a lack of a cohesive, strategic framework. A framework that moves beyond teaching about AI and starts to fundamentally change how learning itself is delivered. It’s about building a culture of continuous evolution, where learning is embedded directly into the flow of work.
This requires a new way of thinking—a shift from being a content creator to an ecosystem architect. It involves a deep understanding of how to blend foundational literacy with role-specific skills and how to leverage technology to create truly personalized, impactful learning experiences.
The blueprint for this exists, but it isn’t a one-size-fits-all PDF. It’s a tailored strategy that aligns with your unique business goals.
The question is no longer if you need an AI-ready training strategy, but how quickly you can build one. Your team is already at the starting line. Organisations need to be ready to lead them…
The gap between informal AI use and formal L&D strategy is one of the biggest risks—and opportunities—for businesses today. If you’re wondering how to bridge that gap in your organisation, you are on the right track…
References:
- Microsoft & Tech Council of Australia Report – “Australia’s Generative AI Opportunity”
- Deloitte Access Economics – “The State of AI in Australia”
- Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) AI Announcement
- Atlassian Intelligence Launch
- Telstra & Microsoft Partnership