The Two Trillion Euro Opportunity For Europe

It is quickly becoming clear that generative AI is the biggest technological breakthrough of our era, and we believe it is going to reinvent industry like no technology has done before. As this new reality quickly approaches, organizations will need to focus on reinventing their workforce at all levels, from fully understanding the technology at the leadership level to providing their people with the necessary skills to work with AI.

There is a critical factor in this shift. The many benefits of this exciting technology will only be realized by taking a people-centric approach, in which employers focus on how to apply the technology to boost employee productivity and well-being.

Accenture research found that by adopting Gen AI responsibly, at scale and focusing on people, an additional €2.3 trillion in economic value can be created in Europe over the coming 15 years, the equivalent of adding 0.6 percent points to annual GDP growth up to 2038.

Given the scale of working hours that can potentially be supported by Gen AI, it underscores how transformative this technology is. It also shows leaders how necessary it will be to invest in skilling your workforce in this technology, as well as preparing the entire enterprise to embrace this opportunity. Research from Accenture also reveals that up to 44% of working hours across Europe could be either automated or augmented by Gen AI.

Four steps for preparing your workforce

When speaking to clients seeking guidance on preparing their workforce for Gen AI and realizing the potential of this technology, I regularly point them to four necessary steps that business leaders must take.

First, we must set the example by leading and learning in new ways. To be effective in the Gen AI-enabled future, leaders must challenge old mindsets and immerse themselves in the technology, effectively transforming how they learn by embedding learning into the flow of work.

Second, work must be reinvented. By rethinking entire workflows, leaders can gain a clear view of where Gen AI can be most impactful, aligning it with business goals for better efficiency and innovation across the enterprise as well as collapsing silos in a lasting and meaningful way.

Third, we need to reshape the workforce. Organizations need to prioritize continuous talent reinvention. As use of this technology grows, organizations should further leverage tools and technologies, such as skills mapping. Not only will this help leaders facilitate a smoother transition from declining to emerging roles, it also will allow businesses to understand what higher-value activities to align their people to due to increased capacity.

And finally, we need to prepare our people. Investing in your people so that they can acquire market-relevant technical skills will grow their ability to collaborate with machines and, importantly, also help build their trust.

Investing in your people

Investment in people is the critical action that connects all four of the steps above. Accenture research found that 94% of European workers say they want to learn new skills to work with Gen AI, but only 5% of their employers are currently providing Gen AI training at scale.

This is one of the many reasons why Accenture invested $1 billion to launch LearnVantage, providing our clients with comprehensive technology learning and training services that will help them reskill and upskill their people to reinvent their organizations and achieve greater business value. And we have been working with Europe’s leading companies to put people at the heart of their reinvention.

For example, we have collaborated with the Bank of Ireland, one of the largest financial services groups in Ireland, on its learning service to speed up digital transformation. Through a suite of user-friendly learning experiences, including training in Gen AI, the bank will now be able to support colleagues as they develop new skills and switch to new roles. We are also supporting a global biopharmaceutical company with their ground-breaking generative AI training program for their employees to create world-class digital leaders.

As we look at the demands of the market and this ever-changing landscape, leaders will need to listen and involve their people at every step of the way to strengthen trust and drive reinvention. And they must also act now to meet the exciting innovation that Gen AI will create head on, instead of missing out on this once-in-a-generation opportunity. All countries in Europe are going to see change—there is no hiding from this fact. Empowering your people now will empower the future of our region.