Artificial intelligence is transforming the workplace, promising new opportunities for jobseekers equipped with the right digital skills. But can learning to use AI help overcome longstanding barriers to employment? New research suggests that while AI training can improve a candidate’s chances of securing a job interview, it cannot erase the inequalities that continue to shape hiring decisions.

A study led by Professor Nick Drydakis of Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), published in Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, found that AI-related qualifications improved interview prospects for women from underrepresented backgrounds, including older, Black, lesbian and autistic applicants. However, significant disadvantages remained even when candidates demonstrated relevant digital skills.

To investigate how employers respond to AI qualifications, researchers submitted more than 3,000 applications for genuine job vacancies in London during 2025. The experiment involved fictional but closely matched female candidates applying for non-graduate positions across 10 private-sector occupational fields. Applications differed in characteristics such as age, race, sexual orientation or autism disclosure, as well as whether candidates listed a six-month vocational qualification in AI-related skills.

The results revealed a striking divide. Among applicants outside the underrepresented groups who did not list AI skills, 25% received interview invitations. By comparison, only 11% of underrepresented applicants without AI qualifications were invited to interview. When these applicants included AI training on their applications, their interview invitation rate increased to 14% — an improvement of approximately 27%, but still far below that of their counterparts.

The researchers also uncovered evidence of what they called “wage sorting”. Women from underrepresented backgrounds were more likely to receive interview invitations for lower-paid vacancies within the occupations they targeted. Although AI qualifications improved their access to better-paid opportunities, substantial differences persisted, suggesting that digital skills alone cannot overcome unequal treatment in recruitment.

The study, among the first experimental investigations into employers’ responses to AI credentials among underrepresented groups, builds on Drydakis’s AI Capital theory. However, the researchers did not examine whether AI training would produce similar benefits for applicants outside these groups, leaving an important question for future research.

“As AI becomes increasingly embedded across workplaces, there is growing interest in whether developing AI-related skills, such as training in the use of artificial intelligence tools and software in workplace settings, can help improve employment opportunities for people who traditionally face barriers in the labour market,” said Drydakis, Director of ARU’s Centre for Inclusive Societies and Economies.

Drydakis emphasised that employers increasingly recognise the value of skills such as AI-assisted administration, data analysis and digital record management. Nevertheless, he warned that training must be accompanied by fairer hiring practices. “AI training can help open doors, but it should not be viewed as a substitute for fair recruitment practices,” he said, stressing that technological progress must go hand in hand with efforts to tackle discrimination and ensure equal opportunities for all.

More information: Nick Drydakis, Artificial Intelligence-Related Digital Skills and Employment Outcomes for Underrepresented Women, Industrial Relations A Journal of Economy and Society. DOI: 10.1111/irel.70047

Journal information: Industrial Relations A Journal of Economy and Society Provided by Anglia Ruskin University