Business · Companies · 8 hrs ago
Job seekers value AI skills more than employers currently do
A survey in South Korea found a gap between job seekers’ views of AI skills and employers’ hiring practices.
The Korea Enterprises Federation surveyed 500 job seekers and 200 companies among the country’s 1,000 largest by sales.
While 77% of job seekers said AI skills matter for getting a job, only 20% of companies formally assess them when hiring new graduates.
Many job seekers value the ability to check AI’s answers, fix errors and improve work, while 67.5% of companies expect basic practical use, such as searching for information or drafting text.
Another 37% of companies said they do not use AI skills in hiring assessments.
Still, 82.5% of surveyed companies expect their AI requirements to rise over the next three years.
The survey also points to data interpretation, problem-solving and critical thinking as important skills, and says universities should strengthen practical learning linked to students’ fields and jobs.
A survey found a gap between job seekers’ views of AI skills and employers’ current hiring practices.
While 77.0% of job seekers said AI skills matter for getting a job, 39.0% of employers said they consider them important when hiring new graduates.
Only 20.0% of surveyed employers use AI skills as an official hiring assessment criterion.
Job seekers often value advanced skills such as judging AI outputs and correcting errors, while most employers expect basic practical use.
However, 82.5% of employers expect the AI skill level they seek in new hires to rise over the next three years.
- Who
- The Korea Enterprises Federation surveyed employers and job seekers.
- What
- The survey found that job seekers place more importance on AI skills than employers currently do in hiring.
- When
- The results were released on Nov. 10, 2026.
- Where
- South Korea.
- Why
- The survey examined how employers and job seekers view the AI skills expected of new hires.
Job seekers
Employers
Importance
Job seekers
77.0% said AI skills are important in getting a job.
Employers
39.0% said AI skills are important when selecting new employees.
Expected skill level
Job seekers
54.8% said advanced abilities, including judging AI output and correcting errors, are important.
Employers
67.5% expect basic use, such as searching for and summarizing information or drafting work.
Hiring assessment
Job seekers
Job seekers see AI skills as important to employment.
Employers
20.0% of employers formally assess AI skills; 37.0% do not use them in assessment.
The Korea Enterprises Federation surveyed 200 companies and 500 job seekers.
The federation released the survey results.
- Survey sample
- 200 companies and 500 job seekers
- Job seekers
- 77.0% consider AI skills important for getting a job
- Employers
- 39.0% consider AI skills important when hiring new graduates
- Official assessment
- 20.0% of employers use AI skills as a formal hiring criterion
- Basic AI use
- 67.5% of employers expect basic practical skills from new hires
- Future expectations
- 82.5% expect required AI skill levels to rise over three years
1 source
What people are saying
Job seekers should focus on gaining experience using AI in their majors and jobs rather than vaguely learning advanced AI technology
University education should move beyond acquiring AI skills to practical training linked to majors and jobs