AI Skills Framework
The skills and competence for responsible AI
What is AISF
The AI Skills Framework (AISF) defines the professional skills and competence people need to adopt, build, govern and lead artificial intelligence responsibly. It describes 44 AI skills across eight categories, each set out at up to seven levels of responsibility, from basic awareness through to setting AI strategy.
AISF covers the whole organisation, not just technical teams. It runs from the AI fluency and data literacy everyone now needs, through engineering, automation and governance, to leadership, transformation and specialist domains such as healthcare, financial services and the public sector.
What AISF does
AISF gives organisations a clear, structured language for the AI capability behind their strategy, governance and day-to-day work.
AISF sits alongside SFIA, the CIISec Skills Framework and the CAF Skills Framework in the ValidateSkills Assessment Platform, so AI skills can be assessed and reported with the rest of your digital workforce.
Defines AI competence
Defines 44 AI skills across eight categories, from AI fundamentals and prompt engineering to agentic AI design, AI risk management and AI leadership.
Seven professional levels
Sets out each skill at up to seven levels, from awareness and supported use, through independent practice and enabling others, to advising and setting strategy.
Role profiles
Supports ready-made AI role profiles, from AI Engineer and Data Scientist to AI Agent Architect and Chief AI Officer.
Evidence-based assurance
Enables evidence-based assessment and validation of AI skills, supporting responsible AI governance.
The eight skill categories
Each category groups related AI skills, so you can see at a glance where your capability is strong and where the gaps are.
Every skill has an overall description, guidance notes, technical depth and level descriptors, so assessors and individuals share the same view of what good looks like.
AI Foundation & Digital Literacy
AI Fundamentals, Data Literacy for AI, AI Ethics, Prompt Engineering, AI Awareness, AI Productivity and AI Fluency: the everyday AI skills every role needs.
AI Engineering & Development
AI/ML Model Engineering, Generative and Foundation Model Development, Agentic AI Design, AI Data Engineering, MLOps and AI Operations, and AI Testing.
AI Application, Automation & Design
AI-Enabled Workflow Design, AI Product Management, AI Human Factors and AI Procurement.
AI Governance, Risk & Compliance
AI Governance and Policy, AI Risk Management, AI Audit and Transparency, AI Security and AI Sustainability.
AI Strategy & Business Leadership
AI Leadership, AI Business Strategy and the AI Ecosystem.
AI Transformation & Capability Development
AI Business Readiness, AI Change, AI Workforce Development and AI Communication.
Technical Specialist
Computer Vision, Natural Language Processing, AI Robotics, Edge AI, Federated and Privacy-Preserving AI, and Synthetic Data Generation.
Domain Specialist
AI for Healthcare, Financial Services, Legal and Compliance, Cybersecurity, Creative Industries, Supply Chain, Education, the Public Sector and HR.
Seven levels
AISF uses seven levels of responsibility, so you can describe both what someone can do with AI and the influence they have.
- Levels 1 and 2: awareness of AI and supported use
- Level 3: designs, develops and applies AI independently
- Level 4: manages and enables others
- Level 5: ensures quality and gives authoritative advice
- Level 6: initiates and influences across the organisation
- Level 7: sets AI strategy and direction
AI role profiles
AISF role profiles describe the skills and levels expected in the AI jobs organisations are hiring for now, including:
- AI Engineer
- Machine Learning Engineer
- Data Scientist
- MLOps Engineer
- AI Researcher
- AI Trainer
- Computer Vision Engineer
- Natural Language Processing (NLP) Engineer
- AI Agent Architect
- Chief AI Officer (CAIO)