Given the current challenging employment environment, discussing the AI skills job seekers need to develop in 2026 seems like a terrific topic to discuss!

This article in Computerworld (What AI skills job seekers need to develop in 2026, written by Agam Shah and available here) discusses that knowing how to query ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude doesn’t make you an expert on genAI and AI tools. Even as thousands of workers lose their jobs to AI, the number of job openings seeking “AI skills” continues to grow.

But AI skills are they looking for? Computerworld talked to experts and executives, who shared insights into the skills job seekers need to develop this year to stay competitive in a rocky job market.

The consensus: it’s not just about growing technical skills like prompt engineering or vibe coding. Job candidates also need to be able to demonstrate the tangible use of AI to solve a problem and show enough flexibility to keep pace with rapidly changing technologies. Needed AI skills entail understanding the underlying processes being used, recognizing the importance of data points and signals and being able to punch that information into AI tools to be a more impactful employee.

Think Context Engineering

One of the earliest AI skills involved prompt engineering — being able to get to the necessary AI-generated results by using the right questions. But that baseline skill is being pushed aside by “context engineering.”

As the author notes: “Think of context engineering as prompt engineering on steroids; it involves developing prompts that can deliver consistent and predictive answers…That skill is critical because AI models are changing quickly, and the answers they spout out can differ from day to day. Context engineering is aimed at ensuring consistent outputs despite a rapidly evolving AI ecosystem.”

While I think that’s a simplistic way of looking at context engineering (future topic alert!), I do agree that (as the author states): “Context engineering requires employees to be subject-matter and domain experts to better enable them to root out typical liabilities associated with AI, such as hallucinations and logical inconsistencies.”

Focus on AI Governance

Gartner director analyst Deepak Seth noted that AI governance was among the top skills sought in 2025 and will remain important this year. Being a jack-of-trades who knows a little about a lot of AI areas doesn’t carry as much value as being focused.

In that manner, he recommended that job seekers immerse themselves in the technology beyond simply taking a class. “Instead of a course, go to any conference,” Seth said. “If you’re talking about a person [seeking work] who is on the finance side of things, go to any finance conference. Every conference will have some focus on AI because it’s become so ubiquitous in the business world. That makes it critical to “understand what people are saying about AI in that business context,” Seth said.

Real-World Applications

When appropriate, a job candidate should be able to show how they would use AI to solve a real-world problem. That demonstrates adaptability, and the willingness to use AI as a partner in corporate workflows — something companies want to see.

In hiring, genuine AI capability shows up through curiosity and real experience, Matthew Blackford, vice president of engineering at RWS said. “Strong candidates can talk honestly about something they tried, what did not work, and what they learned,” he said, adding “these skills apply equally to engineers, product managers, and technology leaders.”

Keep Learning

Since genAI and other AI tools first burst on the scene just three years ago, the number of people who are true experts is still limited. And because AI technology is changing so rapidly — from genAI to agentic AI and increasing physical AI — job seekers need to be on top of skills development.

“Things are evolving at such a fast pace that there will be no perfect set of skills,” said Seth. “I would say more than skills, attitudes are more important — that adaptability to change, how quick you are to learn things.”

Couldn’t agree more. If you’re currently seeking employment, take advantage of the time you have and learn all that you can about not only how to use the technology, but also in better ways the technology can be applied and used – responsibly. There’s no time like the present!

So, what do you think? What other AI skills do job seekers need to develop? Please share any comments you might have or if you’d like to know more about a particular topic.

Image created using Microsoft Designer, using the term “robot lawyer on a job interview with another robot lawyer”.

Disclaimer: The views represented herein are exclusively the views of the authors and speakers themselves, and do not necessarily represent the views held by my employer, my partners or my clients. eDiscovery Today is made available solely for educational purposes to provide general information about general eDiscovery principles and not to provide specific legal advice applicable to any particular circumstance. eDiscovery Today should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a lawyer you have retained and who has agreed to represent you.