ARtificial Intelligence Skills Alliance (ARISA)
The growing demand for skilled employees within the Artificial Intelligence (AI) cannot be met by current education and training programmes. Europe needs an innovative European AI Strategy that can fast-track the upskilling of the EU’s workforce to meet this ever-increasing demand.
Objective
The project will support the implementation of the European Pact for Skills by developing a sectoral skills strategy on AI. This strategy aims to lead to systemic and structural impact on reducing skills shortages, gaps, and mismatches, as well as ensure appropriate quality and levels of skills.
Results
The project includes:
- the establishment of a long-term partnership for an innovative European Artificial Intelligence Skills Alliance;
- the design and widespread dissemination of an innovative and sustainable short term and long-term AI Skills Strategy;
- the development, testing and roll-out of VET and HE training curricula in 8 pilot sites (5 universities and 3 VET providers);
- the adaptation of programmes and qualifications in line with latest market needs.
- connecting micro-credentials to these new programmes and courses
Long-term benefits
The AI Skills Strategy, VET and HE curricula, and the learning programmes will be designed, solidly tested in practice and made available to be adapted and scaled across the whole of Europe, meeting the current and future skills needs of the AI Sector and driving the growth of AI talent in Europe.
Approach
The project will be implemented in nine work packages as follows:
1 – Project management and coordination
2 - Needs analysis
3 – AI Skills Strategy
4 - Development of an innovative curricula and training programme
5 - Development of a certification system
6 – Piloting in different EU countries
7 – Dissemination and communication
8 – Long term sustainability
9 – Quality assurance
In terms of content, the project starts with the Needs Analysis, in which the skills mismatch at European level is analysed by, among other things, investigating the need for skills based on job vacancies and available relevant AI training programs.
Output
Final presentation ARISA, On the 26th of March the final presentation of the ARISA project will be held. Researchers will present the deliverables and AI training programmes for European professionals.
Projectupdates
Final presentation ARISA
The need for an AI-literate workforce is unmistakable. Opening his presentation, researcher Ran Zhang referred to an earlier ARISA finding from 2022: over 70% of companies identified the lack of AI-skilled staff as a critical barrier to AI adoption. This challenge helped shape the development of the ARISA AI Skills Strategy for Europe, a living document that is kept up-to-date in response to the field’s rapid evolution. “When we started, generative AI was not yet publicly available. Now AI is being adopted much more widely, which creates different needs,” Zhang explained. At the same time, while many organizations have already adopted AI, turning adoption into real value remains a challenge. Zhang noted that approximately 70% of organizations that have already adopted AI report that they have not yet achieved value realization, suggesting that there is still considerable room for progress not only in AI adoption and scaling, but also in capturing meaningful value from it.
One of the clearest pathways to improving AI literacy is through modular, flexible training. Researcher Mohamed Eledeisy presented the results of two ARISA pilot courses developed by Utrecht University of Applied Sciences. One course, co‑created with the Dutch government, prepared future policymakers by covering essential topics such as AI fundamentals, ethics, and governance. The second course focused on helping Dutch organizations expand their use of AI for decision making. “It was challenging to accommodate the busy schedules of directors, programme managers, and consultants,” Eledeisy reflected. “The course was open to all backgrounds, which sometimes required one‑on‑one coaching. But we saw steady skill development and received impressive feedback.”
Throughout the conference, speakers emphasized the importance of European collaboration in strengthening AI skills and workforce readiness. Lector AI Stefan Leijnen highlighted that cross‑country cooperation is essential for scaling efforts and building a unified approach. “People often think of the European Union as rigid, but it is quite flexible. In multicountry projects like this one, member states take the lead rather than being dictated to. The way it works now is the way it should work.”
For more information on the ARISA courses and the European AI Skills Strategy, visit their website: Home - Arisa
FAQ
The four year long ARISA project is funded by the European Union via a Erasmus+ program. More information can be found on the ARISA website, ARISA Twitter and ARISA LinkedIn.
HU researchers involved in the research
Collaboration with knowledge partners
The consortium is composed by four main groups of partners:
- National Trade associations and Industry Umbrella Organisations: Digital Europa, DIGITAL SME, CCIS (Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia), and IVSZ (ICT Association of Hungary).
- High Education providers: University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, UNIR (International University of La Rioja, Spain), BME (Budapest University of technology and economics), University of Ljubljana, and Warsaw University of Computer Science.
- Vocational Education and Training providers: Adecco, Digital Technology Skills Limited (DTSL), Global Knowledge, BCS Koolitus, EXELIA.
- Certification bodies: ASIIN (German Accreditation Agency for qualification programs in the STEM field), CIMEA.
