Survey of 9,000 shows employees want employer-led AI upskilling and treat AI as a core workplace skill

The useful part

Compare Services FAQ All WebPost WebRelease Targeted Media Wire Service AI becomes a core professional skill as employees welcome employer-led upskilling, new eDreams ODIGEO research finds WEBWIRE. AI-first credentials increasingly influence job choices, with 57% of respondents in Portugal, 54% in Spain and 48% in Germany saying a company�s AI-first reputation would matter when choosing between two similar job offers. Asked how they would react if their employer gave them access to AI tools and courses to master them, employed respondents were positive by a wide margin in every market surveyed.

How it works

• Portugal recorded the strongest appetite at 79%, followed by Spain at 73%, Italy at 72% and Germany at 68%.
• More than half of respondents in Portugal (57%) and Spain (54%) said a company�s reputation -first pioneer would be an important or deciding factor when choosing between two similar job offers, alongside...
• Together the findings point to AI settling into the workplace as a general professional competency rather than a specialist one, with employees welcoming the chance to build it alongside their employers.
• AI as a core competency in practice The appetite the research identifies is already materialising in the travel technology sector, whereeDreams ODIGEO has operated -first business since 2014.
• In this case, twelve years of AI-first strategy have expanded capacity, workforce and the business alike.

What to take from it

A majority responded positively in every other market, with 61% in the United States, 55% in France and 54% in the UK. The approach spans engineering, product, customer experience, marketing, finance, human resources and operations. Engineering productivity has risen more than 47% year on year, with teams delivering five times more business features.

Example or evidence

• Dana Dunne, Chief Executive Officer at eDreams ODIGEO, commented: �The research reflects a shift we went through more than a decade ago: AI literacy is becoming a general skill, and people want to build it.
• It is also why the capability has translated into significant growth for us as the world�s first travel subscription platforms� Notes to editors Research methodology:
• Research conducted by OnePoll on behalf of eDreams ODIGEO among 9,000 adults across the United Kingdom, United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Portugal.
• Twelve years of working this way has taught us that fluency is not really about the tools, which change every few months, but about judgement, knowing when to use AI, how to direct it and how to check what...

Details worth keeping

Friday, September 11, 2026 Survey of 9,000 people across seven markets finds strong demand for employer-led training, with appetite strongest in Portugal (79%), Spain (73%) and Italy (72%), followed by Germany (68%), the United States (61%), France (55%) and the UK (54%). The shift is visible at organisational level too: the International Business Awards introduced a category dedicated to AI-driven culture for the first time in 2026, in which eDreams ODIGEO was recognised for making AI upskilling company-wide rather than confined to technology teams. AI capability is also starting to feature in career decisions.

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