The Pulse of Higher Ed

Is your online and professional continuing education unit looking for ways to improve job-market outcomes for graduates and alumni? Are you exploring strategies that better align your program portfolio with the skills business and industry leaders say they need both for new hires and for upskilling current employees? 

Recent employer data provides a clear signal that high-demand employees are ones with verified AI skills and practical experience. A 2025 article by Donadel identified three skill areas employers now view as critical.  

1. Nine out of ten employers reported that artificial intelligence (AI) is an essential skill for graduates.  
2. Three in four employers emphasized the importance of internships or other forms of experiential learning embedded within education programs.  
3. More than eight in ten employers also indicated they are seeking evidence of specific skill attainment, such as certificates, badges, or other non-degree credentials (Donadel, 2025).  

Collectively, these findings underscore a familiar message for online and professional continuing education leaders: employability increasingly depends on applied skills, demonstrated competence, and adaptability. 

When we look more closely at employer expectations related to AI, an important question emerges: what specific AI skills are employers seeking? A review of workforce reports and job postings suggests demand generally falls into two complementary categories: AI technical skills and AI literacy with operational competence. Both represent significant opportunities for online and professional continuing education units to take the lead. 

AI Technical Skills 

The first area of employer demand centers on AI technical skills. Employers are seeking employees who understand how AI models are built and have expertise in areas such as programming, machine learning, data analysis, and machine learning operations (MLOps).  Employees with these skills understand the mathematical foundations behind the models and can build custom AI models to solve complex challenges, innovating beyond existing off-the-shelf AI tools, they fill roles such as data scientist, machine learning engineer, and AI specialist. 

AI Literacy and Operations Management 

The second category, AI literacy and operations management, is equally critical and often reaches a broader population of learners. Employers increasingly value professionals across functional areas (i.e. HR, marketing, finance, operations, etc.) who can use generative AI tools strategically to improve productivity, decision-making, and organizational effectiveness. This goes beyond basic tool familiarity to include AI fluency: understanding how, when, and why to apply AI responsibly in real-world contexts. 

Prompt engineering has quickly emerged as a foundational employee capability, particularly in generative AI environments where effectiveness depends on the ability to design, test, and refine prompts that produce reliable outputs.  In addition, AI-literate professionals must be able to evaluate outputs, test assumptions, recognize limitations, and validate results. These skills align closely with critical thinking and professional judgment.  These skills are capabilities employers continue to prize. 

Ethical and responsible AI use is another core component of AI Literacy. Many organizations are still developing governance frameworks, and new hires may be expected to contribute to these efforts. Programs that address issues such as bias, data privacy, transparency, and accountability prepare learners to navigate both technical and organizational complexity. Understanding the leadership and governance dimensions of AI equips graduates to operate effectively at the intersection of technology and people. 

AI literacy also extends into operations and leadership. As AI becomes embedded across functions, professionals must learn how to integrate human teams and AI-enabled workflows. Continuous learning, communication, and change management are increasingly essential. Strong human-centered skills including analytical reasoning, creativity, ethical judgment, and adaptability remain central to success in AI-infused enterprises. 

For online and professional continuing education units, the strategic question is not whether to offer AI technical programs, but how to do so in a way that remains responsive to employer needs. Modular, stackable, and employer-informed offerings allow institutions to adapt quickly as tools and platforms evolve. Equally important is sustained engagement with industry advisors to understand which AI tools employers are actively deploying and where skill gaps exist within their workforce. These conversations often lead to customized training partnerships that benefit both learners and employers while strengthening institutional relevance and revenue. 

Experiential learning is especially powerful in this context. Programs that include applied projects, simulations, employer-sponsored challenges, and hands-on labs allow learners to demonstrate technical proficiency while building portfolios that signal readiness to employers. For many organizations, this applied evidence matters as much as the credential itself. 

Conclusion 

For online and professional continuing education units, these trends present a timely opportunity. Employers are signaling clearly that AI capability, experiential learning, and verifiable skills matter and that they expect education providers to respond quickly. By intentionally designing programs that integrate AI technical skills, AI literacy, applied learning, and stackable credentials, online and professional continuing education can serve as a bridge between rapidly evolving workforce demands and lifelong learners seeking relevance and resilience. 

UPCEA member institutions are particularly well positioned to lead this work. With strong employer relationships, flexible program models, and a mission centered on adult learners and workforce impact, online and professional continuing education units can help shape not only employability outcomes, but the future of work itself. 

Reference 

Donadel, A. (2025) Here are 3 qualities that make graduates better job candidates. University Business. https://universitybusiness.com/here-are-3-qualities-that-make-graduates-better-job-candidates/   

Dara Crowfoot is the Assistant Vice Chancellor for the Extended Campus at the University of Illinois Chicago 

Vickie Cook is the Vice Chancellor for Enrollment and Retention Management and a Research Professor of Education at the University of Illinois Springfield, as well as a Strategic Advisor for UPCEA Research and Consulting.  To learn more about UPCEA Research and Consulting, please contact [email protected].