A new global study conducted by Coursera in partnership with Amazon Web Services reveals that UK technology executives are placing cloud transformation and AI competency at the top of their strategic agenda, positioning skills development as a key enabler for growth.

The report surveyed over 750 senior IT professionals across six countries, representing large enterprises with at least 1,000 employees and annual revenues over $100 million. In the UK, nearly 94% of tech leaders identified cloud transformation as one of their core business goals over the next three years, closely followed by 88% prioritizing AI initiatives.

While cloud transformation received the highest emphasis, skill readiness remains a significant concern. Only about 50% of UK respondents rated their teams as having adequate AI skill levels to meet upcoming business goals. In response, 75% of leaders said training existing employees is critical in the coming 12–18 months, and 67% cited staying current with rapidly evolving technology as the most urgent driver for learning. When asked to rank critical areas for investment, cloud computing topped the list with 63%, followed by data proficiency (58%), cybersecurity (54%), and AI skills (47%). The findings illustrate a deliberate strategy to strengthen foundational infrastructure skills alongside emerging technologies.

The study also highlights broad expectations for AI adoption. Almost 99% of respondents anticipate that future codebases will include AI-generated or AI-assisted code, with between 20% and 50% of new code expected to follow this trend within three years. Meanwhile, 78% foresee automation affecting technical roles at scale. Despite these shifts, leaders repeatedly stressed the importance of human contribution: 88% affirmed that AI-driven transformation would require substantial investment in talent development to succeed.

In the UK, employers forecast a productivity boost of up to 44% from AI-powered workflows, with employees expecting 39% efficiency gains in day-to-day tasks. However, the talent gap persists—more than 70% admit to lacking confidence in their AI readiness, and many report difficulties in locating qualified professionals.

As AI and cloud adoption accelerate, industry observers argue that structured upskilling models—such as apprenticeships, micro-credentials, and hands-on platforms—are increasingly vital. Research shows that employers are now favoring skills over formal degrees, especially in AI roles where domain knowledge directly correlates to wage premiums.

In summary, the Coursera-AWS study underscores a clear message from UK tech leaders: building robust cloud and AI pipelines depends less on new hires and more on rapidly elevating internal talent. With digital transformation accelerating, enterprise success hinges on a proactive strategy—one that blends foundational infrastructure skills with generative AI fluency and hands-on training.

As investment in upskilling grows, UK enterprises appear poised to lead Europe in cloud-native and AI-powered modernization—powered by a workforce ready to turn transformation ambitions into reality.