Two in five (40%) financial services directors and C-Suite professionals say their organisation has lost a competitive bid or client opportunity partly because of AI capability concerns, according to new research from Kaplan UK - a leading provider of professional education, apprenticeship training, and enterprise upskilling.
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The findings suggest that capability gaps are beginning to have a direct commercial impact in a sector where AI adoption is already a significant strategic priority.
More than four in five (81%) C-Suite respondents in financial services told Kaplan that AI adoption and expansion is a high or top organisational priority over the next 12 months, compared with 74% of leaders across industries overall.
Financial services C-Suite teams were also more likely to say they are confident their organisation has a clearly defined AI strategy that is understood at senior level.
However, Kaplan’s research suggests investment in the sector remains more heavily weighted towards technology than the workforce expected to use it.
Half (50%) of financial services C-Suite respondents said their organisation has placed greater emphasis on investing in AI tools and technology, compared with just 17% who said greater emphasis has been placed on workforce capability development.
The findings are published in Kaplan’s new whitepaper, From AI to ROI: Who owns the problem? which examines the relationship between AI investment, workforce capability and business performance. The Kaplan study is grounded in the views of 1,000 UK employees, 600 HR and L&D professionals, and 600 company directors and C-Suite leaders.
Financial services leaders also estimated that fewer than half of the employees (45%) expected to work with AI are genuinely proficient, compared to 79% of employees in the sector that are confident in using AI productively.
Taken together, the findings point to a potential gap between strategic ambition and organisations’ ability to translate AI investment into day-to-day capability. Despite high levels of leadership focus on AI, many financial services businesses are investing more heavily in the technology itself than in developing the people expected to apply it.
Chiraag Swaly, Head of Data and Technology Curriculum at Kaplan, said: “Financial services organisations clearly recognise the strategic importance of AI. The sector is prioritising adoption and leaders are putting AI strategies in place, but the research suggests that technology investment alone is not enough to generate a return.
“When four in ten C-Suite leaders say AI capability concerns have contributed to losing a bid or client opportunity, workforce capability becomes a commercial issue rather than simply a training issue.
“Financial services employees operate in environments where judgement, accuracy and the appropriate use of technology matter enormously. Giving people access to AI is therefore only one part of the challenge. Organisations also need to ensure employees can apply those tools effectively in the context of their roles.
“The gap between investment in technology and investment in workforce capability is significant. Closing it will require organisations to treat the skills needed to use AI as part of the transformation itself, rather than something that follows deployment.”
The findings reflect a broader pattern identified by Kaplan across UK businesses. While organisations are investing heavily in AI, the research suggests workforce development is not always progressing at the same pace.
Across industries, 54% of C-Suite and director respondents said AI-related investment has placed greater emphasis on tools and technology than workforce capability development, while only 20% say the greater emphasis has been on developing employees’ skills.
Kaplan argues that the challenge for financial services organisations is therefore not simply to accelerate AI adoption, but to ensure investment in technology is matched by the practical capability needed to use it effectively across the workforce.
The findings are published in From AI to ROI: Who owns the problem?