Workers Want AI Training, But Not Everyone Is Getting It

Across the region, AI is already widely used in organisations. Our survey of 3,000 working professionals across six markets — Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam — found that the majority of workers operate in environments where AI has some foothold. Overall, 62% of respondents work in companies that use AI daily, at least within specific departments. In Vietnam, 34% say AI is already integrated extensively across their entire organisation.

But when it comes to guidance, versus workers navigating AI on their own, the data tells a more complex story.

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Most workers haven’t received any training

When asked whether they had participated in any AI or digital skills training in the past year, the majority across all markets said no. Employer-provided training reached only 14–29% of workers, depending on the country, with Vietnam leading at 29% and Thailand at the lowest at 14%. Self-funded training showed similar patterns, ranging from 14% in Thailand to 29% in Malaysia and Vietnam.

The more telling figure lies beneath this: between 34% and 53% of workers across Southeast Asia said they had received no training but are actively interested in getting some. In Thailand, that figure reaches 53%, followed by 47% in the Philippines and 41% in Singapore.

Meanwhile, 8–15% of workers across the region say no training is available to them at all, leaving them to navigate this shift on their own, without guidance.

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Organisations recognise the gap — but aren’t fully ready

Workers’ sense of being undertrained closely mirrors how their organisations assess their own readiness. Across all six markets, only 10–25% of respondents said their organisation is “very prepared” to implement or expand AI at scale, Singapore at just 10%, with Vietnam higher at 25%.

The dominant response across every market was “somewhat prepared”, with plans underway, but clear gaps remaining, accounting for 51–58% of responses.

The encouragement gap is just as visible. Only 23–38% of workers say their employer actively promotes AI use through formal training or structured guidance. The majority, 44–58%, report receiving only occasional suggestions or informal direction. In Indonesia, 17% say they receive no support or expectations from management at all.

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Skills gaps remain a top barrier to adoption

This is not just a perception issue. When asked to identify the biggest barriers to AI adoption in their workplace, “lack of technical skills among employees” consistently ranked among the top concerns across all markets.

It was cited by 45% of workers in Singapore, 44% in Thailand, 34% in the Philippines, and 32% in Vietnam. In Singapore, it emerged as the single most cited barrier — ranking even above data security and privacy concerns.

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Responsibility: everyone’s — and therefore no one’s

So who should close this gap? When asked directly, workers most pointed to “shared responsibility” in Singapore (40%) and Thailand (39%), split across governments, employers, and individuals.

In Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, employers were more frequently singled out, though shared responsibility still ranked prominently across all markets.

Government programmes, meanwhile, are not yet bridging the gap. Only 8–22% of workers said their government is “very effective” in preparing the workforce for AI. In Thailand, 13% rated government efforts as “not effective at all,” while in the Philippines, 15% said they were not even aware of any initiatives.

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Workers are willing — but waiting

Despite the training gap, workers are far from disengaged. When asked what they would do if AI significantly changed their role, retraining or upskilling was the most selected response in every market, ranging from 29% in the Philippines to 60% in Thailand. Vietnam stood slightly apart, with 20% choosing further education as their top response.

Confidence levels, however, reflect the current reality. Across all six markets, the majority of workers, between 58% and 70%, describe themselves as only “somewhat confident” in their ability to work with AI. In other words, they can use it, but still require guidance. Only 11–20% feel fully confident.

The appetite to adapt is clearly there. The infrastructure to support it, however, has yet to fully catch up.

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This article draws on findings from Milieu Insight’s SEA AI at Work 2026 Study, conducted between 2–10 February 2026 across six Southeast Asian markets with 3,000 respondents (500 per market). For the full dataset, contact sales@mili.eu.