The essential guide to data and AI skills
The rapid growth of AI and data-driven technologies is transforming jobs, industries, and the skills necessary for success. Whether you’re an individual developing your capabilities, a business preparing your workforce, or an educator designing tomorrow’s learning, this dual resource, the Data and AI Skills Framework and our new whitepaper, offers strategic insight and practical guidance to thrive in the data and AI economy.
The Data and AI Skills Framework
The Data and AI Skills Framework is a practical tool designed to help individuals, teams, and educators identify and build the skills needed across Scotland’s data and AI ecosystem. The Framework outlines key competencies, from technical abilities to leadership and ethics, mapped across experience levels to guide learning and development.
What’s inside the framework?
- Key data and AI skills – Covering data literacy, technical skills, data and AI ethics and governance, leadership, and meta-skills (higher-order capabilities that help individuals adapt, learn, and navigate complex environments).
- Career and workforce development – Helping individuals, teams, organisations, and businesses to assess and improve skills.
- Practical guidance – A roadmap to skill development, using a persona-based approach from foundational knowledge to advanced expertise.
The framework outlines four key skill areas – technical, ethical, leadership, and strategic – mapped to different experience levels. It provides a clear path for learning and development, helping to build a data-driven workforce for the future.
Data and AI skills in Scotland: Closing the gap for a promising economic future
We are pleased to announce the publication of our whitepaper highlighting the growing data and AI skills gap in Scotland – a challenge that threatens future competitiveness. This report from The Data Lab explores the barriers, opportunities, and key strategies needed to build a confident, inclusive, and future-ready workforce.
Aimed at funders and policymakers, the whitepaper presents evidence to understand data and AI skills and training requirements, proposing ways to overcome these gaps through targeted sector and region-specific initiatives that support upskilling, technology adoption, and strategic knowledge exchange.
The findings are drawn from an extensive programme of research and engagement, including surveys of over 500 senior managers across Scotland and focus groups with private, public, and education sector participants. Supported by desk research and The Data Lab’s decade-long portfolio of innovation, community engagement, and skills building, this analysis identifies key themes, challenges, and training opportunities to help inform policy and enable Scottish organisations to thrive.
Insights from this research have also informed the development of our recommendations and the 2025 Data and AI Skills Framework.
Explore the interactive research dashboard on Tableau.
Complete the form below to access the whitepaper: