Human Skill Upskilling vs AI - How do they pair with each other?

Welcome to the Hue blog.

This space will explore the evolving landscape of work and how it impacts early career professionals. Most importantly, we will continually connect these shifts back to what we are building at Hue Skills: an ecosystem to strengthen the human capabilities that enable long-term professional growth.

This article was inspired by insights from PwC’s 29th Global CEO Survey – Australian findings (PwC Australia, 2026).¹ Countless articles, podcasts, and panel discussions exist that revolve around a single theme: AI is no longer emerging. It is embedded. Organisations are integrating AI into workflows at speed. Productivity is increasing. Outputs are improving. Manual, repetitive tasks are being reduced.

AI is quickly becoming the new normal.

However, as AI tools become more accessible and automation more seamless, will we begin to neglect the development of distinctly human skills?

Human Skills ensure we work with AI to gain the most from it.

Human skills, often referred to as soft skills, are the capabilities that shape how we think, communicate, and act across varied professional contexts. These can include communication and collaboration, curiosity and self-awareness, and critical and strategic thinking.

While technical skills enable task execution, human skills determine how effectively we work with AI and each other to navigate uncertainty when answers are ambiguous. They are what enable and drive individuals to build trust, align teams, and operate with integrity.

Billionaires are already thinking about what a one person business might look like with the use of AI systems. How you adapt and evolve now, especially if you are an early career professional, will drastically impact your future.

The AI Paradox

We are all seeing AI becoming increasingly embedded in the workplace with technical execution being automated at scale. Writing summaries, analysing datasets, generating code, and drafting communications are becoming faster and more cost-efficient through intelligent systems.

Yet AI’s efficiency does not replace human judgement. While it can process information better than any human, you still need a human in the loop.

• It can optimise a workflow but it can't unify the team behind the workflow.

• It can create a solution but can’t communicate it with authenticity to a buyer.

• It can context specific outputs but it can’t effectively and correctly validate them without a human.

This presents a paradox: the more capable AI becomes, the more valuable distinctly human skills become alongside it.

Encouragingly, Australian CEOs appear to recognise this shift, with 68% stating their top ambition for the year ahead is to focus on upskilling their people (PwC Australia, 2026). Granted building AI capacity and capacity, and funnelling talent into creative and strategic work requires both technical and soft skills, without human capability, there is no strong harness.

What This Means for Early-Career Professionals

For early- and mid-career professionals, this shift is defining.

Technical competence is no longer sufficient. The differentiator is the ability to think critically, communicate clearly, adapt quickly, and collaborate meaningfully in environments shaped by constant technological change.

In other words, the future of work will not reward those who merely use AI tools. It will reward those who pair AI fluency with strong human capability.

Closing Reflection

The narrative surrounding AI often focuses on efficiency and acceleration. Yet beneath this technological advancement lies a deeper truth: sustainable growth depends on people. As organisations invest in automation, they must simultaneously invest in the human capabilities that allow technology to be used wisely, ethically, and collaboratively.

The PwC findings reinforce what we believe at Hue, that the most resilient workplaces of the future will be built not just on intelligent systems, but on emotionally intelligent, adaptable, and ethically grounded people.

A sincere thank you to the contributors of PwC’s 29th Global CEO Survey - Kevin Burrowes, Amy Lomas and Simon Herrmann. The transparency and insight provided by Australia’s business leaders offer valuable perspective on the realities shaping our professional landscape. Their openness helps guide conversations and action around the capabilities required for the future of work.

At Hue, we are committed to building those capabilities.

Reference

1. PwC Australia. (2026). 29th Global CEO Survey – Australian findings.