PwC bets on 'skills, not titles' as it rethinks how to train workers in the AI era

• PwC has launched a new learning initiative to ready its staff for the AI workplace.
• The focus is on training workers up on specific skills, such as AI literacy and empathy.
• "Skills, not titles, are the currency of this new era," the firm said in a press release.

AI is forcing the Big Four to rethink how work — and workers — are defined. The generalist consultant is out, and technical skills and deep industry expertise are in.

PwC has launched what it's calling the "Learning Collective," a new workplace training initiative designed for the realities of the AI era.

It's a broad rethink of how learning happens inside one of the world's largest professional services firms.

"Skills, not titles, are the currency of this new era," the firm said in a press release.

The line was reminiscent of news from January, first reported by Business Insider, that fellow Big Four firm Deloitte is overhauling job titles for all of its professionals. From June 1, simple, traditional job roles like "consultant" and "associate" will be replaced by more specific descriptors that better reflect the work Deloitte carries out for clients.

"We're not changing our titles," Yolanda Seals-Coffield, chief people and inclusion officer for PwC US, clarified to Business Insider in an interview.

Still, PwC's approach to talent echoes the industry shift. What that "skills, not titles" ethos means is that, as employees apply for projects, move around the organization, and progress in their careers, it's their portfolio of skills that will set them apart rather than a job title, said Seals-Coffield.

An emphasis on 30 key skills

PwC has introduced three major learning tracks with the Learning Collective. The first is a firmwide emphasis on 30 key skills: 15 AI-centric and 15 human-centric, both of which are "extremely critical" to PwC's success, Seals-Coffield told Business Insider.

"We're not necessarily asking someone to digest all 30 skills in one year," said Seals-Coffield. Different levels will focus on different skills, she added, but taken together they represent what PwC believes will matter most as AI reshapes client work.

On the human-centric aspect, this includes applying critical thinking to evaluate AI-generated outputs and using empathy to understand client dynamics.

The technical skills include AI fluency and AI simulation, which Seals-Coffield described as simulating the work now being completed by AI to ensure staff understand why and how it's done.

The firm said it isn't just teaching people about agents — it's using them in the learning process.

Seals-Coffield said she recently watched a demo of an agent giving feedback on presentation skills this week that was "pretty brutal, but in a really good way."

The agent told her: "You're still not addressing the question around profitability. You're still not being specific about the ROI. It sounds a little bit generic. And I was just like, 'OK, geez, that was a little bit harsh.'"

But the blunt feedback helped her rethink how she had presented certain details, Seals-Coffield said, adding that PwC wants agents that "provide that real tangible critical coaching."

A push to attract engineering talent

The Learning Collective is introducing new programs for two groups feeling the impact of AI acutely: engineers and junior workers.

In a move away from traditional roles associated with the Big Four, PwC has launched a new tech engineering career track, aimed at attracting and recruiting more technical talent.

The firm wants to become "a destination for top engineering talent," the press release states.

For junior staff, PwC has launched the Associate Discovery program — a drive to expose new employees to AI from day one. By the time associates land on their first major engagement, PwC wants them to have experience building agents, working with AI, and developing the human skills required to make those tools useful.

The firm has also reduced the number of offices where consulting associates can begin their careers, from around 60 down to 13, said Seals-Coffield.

Encouraging collaboration in an AI world

Training and development have always been important at the Big Four consulting and accounting firms. Many young grads join their ranks looking to supercharge their business skills.

But the isolation of the COVID years, combined with the way that AI is changing the nature of work, has chipped away at some of PwC's sense of connection around learning and development, especially for younger employees, said Seals-Coffield.

The Learning Collective is trying to change that by encouraging learning beyond courses, such as bringing team members along to meetings or getting teams to discuss what they've learned that week with each other.

"They will find that we are asking them more and more to engage in these learning experiences in their intact team," Seals-Coffield said.

"Getting our people to spend more time together, learning and growing in an intentional way, is the goal of the experience," she added.

Have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at pthompson@businessinsider.com or Signal at Polly_Thompson.89. Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.