People & Skills ยท PPL-04
Skills assessment
The organisation knows which AI skills it has and which it needs, by role and group, and uses this to plan learning, recruitment and workforce decisions.
Why it matters
Learning and recruitment spent without knowing the gap is often wasted. A skills assessment shows where capability is missing and gives a baseline to measure progress against.
Levels
| 0 Absent | Confirmed absent: the evidence shows nothing is in place. Not known is recorded as insufficient evidence, not 0. |
|---|---|
| 1 Initial | No assessment; skills are known only through individual managers' impressions. |
| 2 Developing | Skills have been assessed once, or only for some groups, and the results are not used to plan. |
| 3 Defined | The AI skills each role needs are defined, current skills are assessed across the organisation, and the recorded gap drives learning and recruitment plans. |
| 4 Managed | Skills are reassessed on a set cycle, progress against the gap is measured, and priority gaps are tracked to closure. |
| 5 Optimising | Skills needs are anticipated from the AI roadmap and external change, and the assessment method is improved from experience. |
Level 3 criteria
Level 3 is met when every applicable criterion is met. Criteria marked with an overlay apply only to organisations with that characteristic (overlays).
- PPL-04.1 The AI skills each role needs are defined.
- PPL-04.2 Current AI skills have been assessed across the organisation.
- PPL-04.3 The gap between needed and current skills is recorded.
- PPL-04.4 Learning and recruitment plans are based on the recorded gap.
Assessment questions
- What AI skills does each role or group need, and how was that worked out?
- When were current skills last assessed, and what did it show?
- How have the results changed learning or recruitment plans?
- A skills framework or needs analysis for AI by role
- Skills assessment results and the resulting plan
How to reach Level 3
- Define the AI skills each role or role group needs, starting with the roles that use, build, buy or assure AI most.
- Assess current skills across the whole organisation using a simple self-assessment checked by managers, or a short skills test for specialist roles.
- Record the gap by role and group in a single register.
- Use the gap to set learning priorities (PPL-05) and recruitment needs (PPL-07), and record which actions came from it.
Common pitfalls
- Assessing only the technology team and missing the skills needed by everyone else who works with AI.
- Running a survey and filing the results without changing any plan.
- Using a skills list so long that people cannot assess themselves against it honestly.
Starter artefacts
- AI skills framework by role
- Skills assessment questionnaire
- Skills gap register with resulting actions
Ownership and sequence
- Accountable
- people lead
- Contributors
- business owner, delivery lead
- Depends on
- None
- Roadmap step
- 1
- Lifecycle
- strategy, operate
Cross-references
| ISO/IEC 42001 | 7.2 direct; A.4.6 partial |
|---|---|
| JSP 936 Part 1 | Preface para 7 partial; para 20 partial; para 103 direct |
| MITRE AI Maturity Model | P3.3 direct |
| NIST AI RMF 1.0 | MAP 3.4 partial |
| UNESCO AI Maturity Framework | 1.3 partial; 2.1 direct |
direct: this control at Level 3 meets the item. partial: it covers part of it.