Cloud transformation is a higher strategic priority than artificial intelligence (AI) for UK technology leaders, according to new research. UK respondents ranked cloud (70%), data (59%) and cybersecurity (52%) skills above AI skills (50%) in terms of critical skilling priorities.
The survey, carried out by online course provider Coursera in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS), targeted decision-makers involved in digital transformation across the United Kingdom, France, the United States, India, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates.
The results show that 94% percent of UK tech leaders consider cloud transformation a key business goal over the next three years, compared to 88 percent for AI.
Skilling challenges remain as transformation goals accelerate
More than half (52%) of UK technology leaders said their current teams lack the skills needed to meet transformation goals in the next 12 to 18 months. In response, 75 percent see internal training as critical, while 67 percent say the pace of technological change is the most urgent driver for skills development.
Despite strong interest in AI, it ranked only fourth in terms of skills priority. Cybersecurity ranked higher, driven by a sharp rise in cyber threats. In the past year, 27 percent of UK companies experienced a cyber-attack, up from 16 percent previously. In response, 62 percent of tech leaders named staying ahead of security threats as a key motivation for upskilling their teams.
Other notable drivers of skilling include managing complex infrastructure (46%), optimising cloud and IT budgets (46%) and aligning product strategy to broader business goals (46%).
UK organisations already report benefits from skilling investment. These include improved performance and productivity (79%) and better internal mobility (59%), enabling employees to take on new responsibilities.
Automation is reshaping roles but AI skills gaps persist
While cloud remains the top priority, automation and AI are significantly altering the nature of work. More than half (54%) of UK tech leaders believe that 30 to 50 percent of their own tasks will be automated in the next three years. Nearly all (99%) expect their codebases to be partially AI-generated by then, with 86 percent saying between 20 and 50 percent of their codebase will be developed with AI assistance.
This shift brings increased demand for AI fluency across the workforce. Globally, 78 percent of tech leaders expect all technical roles to be affected by AI-driven task automation within three years. The roles of software developers (42%) and systems developers (41%) are seen as the most impacted.
UK employers are now looking for candidates who are AI-ready from the start. Sixty-eight percent of tech leaders said they expect new hires, regardless of role, to understand how generative AI can be applied to their job responsibilities.
Training still critical despite AI hiring expectations
Mustafa Furniturewala, Chief Technology Officer at Coursera, said, “Tech leaders may be under increasing pressure to deliver AI transformation, but our research shows that they view the cloud as an equally essential foundation. You can’t scale AI capabilities without this foundation – and UK tech leaders are rightly prioritising cloud transformation to build the infrastructure, security and data capabilities upon which AI depends.”
Despite the demand for AI skills in new hires, 74 percent of UK leaders said they cannot rely on hiring alone to close AI-related skills gaps. Internal training will need to play a major role in supporting transformation. Coursera’s Micro-Credentials Impact Report 2025 found that 93 percent of students believe generative AI should be part of their academic training, and 94 percent of employers believe graduates should be AI-ready for entry-level roles.
Furniturewala added, “While AI skills will be vital in the coming years – with the UK government identifying investment in the technology as the new economic frontier – adjacent IT skills cannot be overlooked. AI currently ranks fourth on the list of top skills priorities, behind foundational IT expertise in cloud, data and cybersecurity.
“AI deployment is inherently connected to, and dependent upon, these areas – from data science to cybersecurity and cloud operations – and successfully prioritising them together as part of a unified strategy will confer significant advantage upon leaders across industries.”
