• The strategy touches upon AI’s transformative impact on multiple sectors, its ethical and responsible implementation, and its challenges to the European workforce

• The primary goal: achieve a systemic and structural impact on reducing skills shortages, gaps, and mismatches

• It tackles the educational needs of AI professionals, decision-makers, and policymakers, by aligning offers with industry needs through flexible, modular AI skills learning programs

Artificial Intelligence has achieved remarkable growth in recent years, revolutionising industries and shaping the future of technology. It has the potential to significantly impact a wide range of roles and functions across industries, performing complex tasks that were once exclusive to human intelligence (Sheikh, Prins & Schrijvers, 2023, p.161).

The AI Skills Strategy for Europe, developed by the Artificial Intelligence Skills Alliance (ARISA) project consortium, analyses this multifaceted setting by touching upon the transformative impact of AI over multiple sectors, its ethical and responsible considerations, and the stark mismatch between current European skill status and the demands of an AI-driven economy.

The main goal: reduce skills shortages, gaps, and mismatches, by ensuring appropriate quality knowledge of AI skills to a broad range of stakeholders.

Strategic objectives and activities

The AI Skills Strategy is made of seven main strategic objectives (SOs). Each has a set of activities, milestones, and KPIs involving the Alliance partners and other stakeholders. Their formulation underscores a comprehensive approach to address the evolving landscape of AI skills, acknowledging that their development is not static but dynamic. In detail:

1. Identifying potential skills mismatches, recognizing the need for a constant evaluation of the AI talent pool;
2. Defining the most sought-after AI-related roles and skills requirements, responding to the fluid demands of the market;
3. Encompassing the creation of educational profiles, certification frameworks, and accreditation processes, aligning educational offers with industry needs;
4. Acknowledging the dynamics of the AI sector and emphasizing the development of modular AI skills learning programmes for flexible and responsive training;
5. Highlighting the importance of an AI skills community, promoting collaborative learning and information sharing;
6. Promoting AI awareness, advocating for diversity in the AI workforce, and fostering dialogue on ethical, inclusive, and human-centered AI with decision-makers and policymakers.
7. Fast-tracking AI upskilling and reskilling initiatives, promoting them within national governments, and actively identifying and advocating for funding opportunities.

The table below outlines the whole strategic objectives from SO1 to SO7.

Conceived as a living document, the AI Skills Strategy for Europe is a testament to the collaborative efforts of the AI Skills Alliance.

Following this release, the ARISA partners are now developing future steps in the project’s journey: creating AI skills curricula and learning programmes, which, at a later stage, will be piloted by the project’s partners across Europe.

For a deeper dive into the AI Skills Strategy for Europe, explore the full document here.

If you would like to join the efforts of the Alliance as an Associated partner, you can find more details and application form here: https://aiskills.eu/join-us/.