Occupational change and flexibility: how to use AI to best adapt your workforce to changing business needs

12.11.2025

Occupational versatility was a new concept embraced back in 2012 by the labour authorities in Spain on the occasion of new collective termination regulations. The concept was unheard-of from a legislative standpoint at that time and promised to bring along a much less rigid conception of labour relations. However, employers only welcomed the novelty of this approach insomuch as it helped boost the elimination of job positions.

However, the future of work is giving versatility a new opportunity through AI tools which support quick paths to occupational change in both low and high-skilled individuals. Gen AI is helping identify hidden versatility within employers’ own staff, at the same time it’s fostering upskilling to enable occupation switching.

The impact of these AI tools is particularly relevant in places where working age individuals are not used or willing to change positions, jobs or location to maintain their level of income. Contrary to Americans’ willingness to change jobs and occupations, workforce mobility in the EU remains stagnant for the past 5 years, with male EU movers amounting to 86% of overall statistics. It is in the EU where AI tools can severely impact inhouse workforce organisation in anticipation of massive layoffs.

The use of AI tools is not extremely popular amidst the EU, specially taking into account their relunctancy at viewing them as valid means of adapting to reality. Nevertheless, pioneer regulation initiatives at local level aim at proving controlled AI, balanced against human and labour rights’ protection, can very well support occupational reconversion within strategic business needs.

Companies should be preparing for the implementation of these AI solutions at both long-term strategic and short-term internal level. They need planning towards the elimination of misconception and existing barriers. Business which do not create the required workflows will soon succumb to the setbacks of inadaptability triggering massive job cuts amidst economic worries.

Workers and employers can collaborate to achieve upskilling goals (through training, assuming costs and flexibilizing working schedules and workflows), and that requires full corporate adaptability and critical pivotal thinking.