HR says 92% of staff could reskill for AI jobs. Half of companies hire outsiders anyway

Ask HR whether your colleagues could learn the new AI jobs and almost everyone says yes. Ask who actually gets those jobs and the answer is often someone from outside. Kayla Solino covers the gap for ZDNET, using new research from workforce firm Careerminds.

The numbers

Careerminds and Censuswide surveyed 595 US HR professionals and 547 people managers at organizations with 500 to over 10,000 employees, in late May 2026.

• 92% of HR professionals and 88% of managers believe employees could be reskilled for AI-related roles.
• But 51% of HR professionals and 47% of managers say their employers fill new AI positions with outside hires.
• Only 42% in each group report moving existing employees into those roles.

And most think they're doing fine: 87% of HR professionals and 84% of managers say their organizations adequately consider reskilling. Their hiring says otherwise.

Why it happens

The biggest obstacle is visibility, flagged by 43% of HR respondents and 34% of managers, who can't easily see who has which skills, or who should be retrained. If you can't see the talent in-house, the job ad is the easy button.

Industries differ. In technology and telecom, external hiring runs 15% ahead of redeployment. Media and entertainment is the one sector where both groups report redeploying at least as often as hiring; 56% of HR respondents there redeploy, versus 25% who hire outside.

Why it's expensive

The white paper also cites The Josh Bersin Company, whose research found external hires can cost three to five times as much as filling a comparable role internally, and take up to 20 days longer.

Worth remembering: this is a workforce-solutions firm reporting a problem its business helps solve, and it's survey data about beliefs, not audited hiring records.

For developers, the practical read is that skills you can't show don't count. If you've been building with AI tools, make it visible in your internal profile, your project history and your review notes. HR clearly believes people like you exist; it just can't find you.

Scoreboard update: Draw. Companies believe their people can do the new AI jobs, then hire someone else for them.

Stay undead.