Lule Bunjaku Karapinar, CEO GCC Markets and Executive Education, LEORON Institute, explores why human capability could become a defining competitive advantage as AI transforms how organisations work, adapt and lead.
For years, upskilling largely belonged to HR. It sat alongside onboarding, employee engagement and leadership development, measured through training hours, participation rates and completed courses.
That model no longer reflects what businesses are facing.
AI, automation and digital transformation are changing industries faster than many organisations can build the capabilities required to use them. The question for leaders is therefore shifting. It is no longer simply whether to invest in new technology, but whether their people can evolve quickly enough to turn that investment into meaningful business value.
That is why upskilling has moved from an HR conversation to a boardroom priority.
Technology Is Available. Capability Sets Businesses Apart
One of the assumptions surrounding AI is that adopting it automatically creates competitive advantage. Yet as frontier models, automation tools and digital platforms become increasingly accessible, technology itself is becoming less of a differentiator.
The real distinction lies in what people do with it.
Give two organisations access to the same AI capabilities and the outcomes can look entirely different. One may redesign workflows, improve decision-making and identify new opportunities. Another may simply automate existing processes and produce more of the same work at greater speed.
The difference is not necessarily the technology. It is the skills, judgement and adaptability of the workforce using it.
Across the GCC, this distinction is becoming particularly relevant. Governments have invested significantly in AI infrastructure and national digital strategies, creating an environment where innovation can scale. The next challenge is building the talent capable of translating that infrastructure into measurable outcomes.
In many ways, human capability is becoming the new infrastructure.
From Digital Transformation to Workforce Transformation
Buying technology is relatively straightforward. Building an organisation capable of continuously learning alongside it is considerably harder, and potentially much more valuable.
This is why the conversation must extend beyond digital transformation to workforce transformation.
There is another dimension leaders cannot afford to overlook. As AI becomes embedded in everyday work, employees may increasingly outsource not only repetitive tasks, but elements of critical thinking itself.
The supplied article points to Boston Consulting Group research describing a risk of “distributed deskilling”—where extensive reliance on AI can gradually affect judgement, creativity and problem-solving across an organisation. This attribution should be checked against the original BCG research before publication.
The objective, therefore, should not be to use AI to replace thinking. It should be to elevate it.
Employees need the capability to question AI-generated answers, challenge assumptions, consider alternative viewpoints and exercise judgement. Faster output has value, but better thinking remains what turns that speed into meaningful results.
Why Upskilling Cannot Belong to HR Alone
This responsibility cannot sit solely with the HR function.
Business leaders must determine which capabilities will differentiate their organisations, which roles are changing fastest and where capability-building can deliver the greatest strategic value. HR remains essential in enabling learning, but the priorities themselves should be closely connected to business strategy.
The way organisations measure upskilling must evolve too.
Learning hours and completion rates are useful operational measures, but they say relatively little about whether new capabilities are changing the business. Leaders should also be asking whether learning is improving productivity, decision quality, innovation, customer outcomes and organisational agility.
If capability is a strategic asset, it deserves to be measured like one.
The Advantage That Technology Cannot Replicate
The organisations that thrive in the years ahead may not necessarily be those with access to the most advanced AI. Increasingly, many businesses will have access to similar technologies.
The advantage will lie in building cultures where learning is continuous, curiosity is encouraged and human judgement remains central to decision-making.
Technology will continue to evolve rapidly. Human capability must evolve alongside it.
Ultimately, upskilling is no longer simply an employee development programme. It is an investment in an organisation’s ability to compete, adapt and lead.
And in an era when powerful technology is becoming available to almost everyone, one of the hardest advantages to replicate may be the people who know how to think, adapt and create value with it.
Source: Lule Bunjaku Karapinar, CEO GCC Markets and Executive Education, LEORON Institute
