A new global study by Coursera, in partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS), reveals that a majority of UAE technology leaders view cloud (93%) and Generative AI (GenAI) (89%) transformation as critical business priorities over the next three years. The report, titled From Cloud to AI: How Tech Leaders are Investing in Skills Development to Drive Transformation, highlights the urgent need for skills development to meet digital transformation goals.
Conducted across six countries including the UAE, the research surveyed over 750 senior tech leaders from large organizations, with UAE firms averaging $21.6 billion in annual revenue. Findings show that UAE tech leaders prioritize keeping pace with technology (61%) and mitigating security threats (60%) as top drivers for upskilling. Concerns around optimizing cloud spend (59%) and managing complex infrastructures (52%) further underscore the demand for a skilled workforce.
Kais Zribi, Coursera’s General Manager for the Middle East and Africa, emphasized the importance of balancing investments in automation with strategic human capital development to build a future-ready workforce.
Globally, 95% of tech leaders identify cloud transformation as a key objective, with foundational skills in cloud development (63%), data (58%), and cybersecurity (54%) ranking highest. AI skills are gaining importance, with 47% of leaders prioritizing them in the next three years.
The study also found that skills investment yields tangible benefits including improved performance (72%), workforce agility (67%), and talent mobility (58%). With 52% of tasks expected to be automated, and nearly all codebases anticipated to involve AI-generated or AI-assisted development within three years, leaders stress that human expertise remains essential. About 77% agree that upskilling current employees will be critical to transformation success within 12 to 18 months.
