UAE Energy Workers Rank AI Skills as the Top Future Need, Survey Finds

Penta Global's 2026 resilience index finds that 36 per cent of respondents think technology is moving faster than their organisations can adopt it, and that 69 per cent say work pressure has affected staff wellbeing.

By Nakoda News Desk

1 day ago·2 min read

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Artificial intelligence and digital skills top the list of capabilities that people in the UAE's energy and industrial sector expect to need over the next three years, according to a survey reported by Al Bayan. The same survey shows that many organisations are struggling to turn new technology into results.

The Penta Global Energy Industry Resilience Index 2026 was produced by Penta Global from research by Sapio Research, which surveyed 150 people working in the UAE energy and industrial sector. Forty-two per cent named AI and digital capabilities as among the most important skills for the future. Cybersecurity and digital risk management came second at 34 per cent, followed by sustainability and decarbonisation at 29 per cent.

Adoption Gap

The index found that 38 per cent of organisations surveyed already use AI and generative AI or are in the process of deploying them. But 36 per cent of respondents said technology is advancing faster than their organisation can put it to use. Thirty-two per cent named cost as a barrier to implementation and 31 per cent cited cybersecurity and data risks.

Respondents were confident overall: 85 per cent said they trust the UAE energy and industrial sector to handle the challenges of the coming years. At the same time, 38 per cent said their own organisation adapts to unexpected conditions at an average or slower pace.

Talent And Workload

Only 28 per cent saw local talent development as a key strength of the UAE energy sector, although 91 per cent said Emiratisation and the In-Country Value programme improve competitiveness to some degree. Sixty-nine per cent said workload and pressure had affected employee wellbeing in their organisation over the past 12 months, and 30 per cent described the effect as significant. The report warns that ignoring this pressure could limit the return on training budgets.

Looking ahead, 43 per cent named geopolitical disruption and energy security as the biggest challenge over the next three years, and 38 per cent named rising costs and inflation. Asked which technologies will have the most transformative effect over five years, 23 per cent chose renewable energy and 19 per cent chose AI and machine learning.

The index sets out five priorities for sector leaders: preparing for disruption, tying technology investment to measurable outcomes, investing in people, building local capability, and widening collaboration across the energy and industrial ecosystem.

The findings come as ADIPEC in Abu Dhabi focuses on AI in energy operations. They suggest that buying AI tools is turning out to be easier for the sector than finding and keeping the people who can run them.