­­ARISA Alliance workshop: Key takeaways

On 26 January, Building the Artificial Intelligence Skills Ecosystem: ARISA Alliance from Vision to Collective Action workshop brought together members and stakeholders of the Artificial Intelligence Skills Alliance to engage in a focused dialogue on the future of Europe’s AI skills ecosystem.

This workshop provided an opportunity to exchange insights, identify key priority areas, and propose concrete actions, while also exploring ways for members to actively contribute to the Alliance’s governance, management, and decision-making processes.

Key strategic priorities

Right at the beginning of the workshop, partners identified key strategic priorities that will guide the future of the ARISA Alliance:

• Accelerated workforce reskilling and upskilling: Prioritise the reskilling and upskilling of the existing workforce, including practitioners, leaders, and SMEs, through sector-specific AI skills pathways aligned with real business use cases and organisational needs.

• Accessible and inclusive AI skills provision: Ensure broad access to AI skills through flexible, modular, and hybrid learning formats that address different skill levels, support educators, and reach widening regions and underrepresented groups.

• Labour-market relevance and quality assurance: Continuously update AI skills needs analyses and training content, align programmes with employer demand, and ensure accreditation, quality, and long-term sustainability of ARISA outputs.

• Trustworthy, secure, and ethical AI skills: Embed ethical, secure, and trustworthy AI principles across all training offers, including awareness of cybersecurity risks and AI-enabled threats. 
• Ecosystem collaboration and one-stop access: Strengthen collaboration with other AI skills initiatives and provide streamlined access to training, resources, and skills intelligence through a coordinated ecosystem approach.

Members’ contributions

Participants also identified ways in which members could contribute to the ARISA Alliance:

• Expertise and applied knowledge: Members could contribute technical, sector-specific, and strategic expertise, as well as insights into policy, market needs, and emerging AI topics.
• Training, education, and capacity building: Members could provide training infrastructure, teaching capacity, course materials, and share best practices for curriculum development and upskilling.
• Networks, ecosystem building, and dissemination: Members could leverage their networks to connect practitioners, foster collaboration, and promote knowledge exchange across projects and sectors.
• Funding and sustainability support: Members could support the Alliance’s long-term sustainability through assistance in securing funding or in-kind support.

Incentives and benefits

During the workshop, participants discussed what motivates members to stay actively involved in the ARISA Alliance. The following incentives, benefits, and opportunities that make sustained engagement meaningful and rewarding are:

• Access to knowledge and resources: Members value access to high-quality training materials, data-driven insights, up-to-date course content, and ARISA outputs that can be applied in their own work.
• Collaboration and joint activities: Opportunities to participate in joint projects, task groups, or collaborative initiatives were highlighted as key motivators for engagement.
• Networking and visibility: Members are motivated by enhanced visibility, recognition in the AI community, and connections to professional and cross-national networks.
• Funding and strategic influence: Access to EU funding, support for successful funding applications, and the ability to influence Alliance priorities were identified as important incentives for sustained participation.

Challenges and barriers

The workshop also showcased few challenges and barriers that are limiting the members’ active involvement:

• Time constraints and workload: Members face limited availability due to daily business responsibilities, conflicting meeting schedules, and overloading with existing tasks.
• Limited human and financial resources: Smaller organisations and institutions often struggle with insufficient staff or funding to actively participate in Alliance activities.
• Language and localisation issues: Outputs not being available in local languages and curricula not recognised nationally can reduce accessibility and relevance for some members.
• Lack of shared information or alignment: Members may encounter difficulties due to limited insight into other organisations’ challenges, reducing opportunities for coordination and synergy.

Building momentum for the future

Having explored participants’ strategic priorities, members’ contributions, the Alliance’s benefits, and the challenges that currently limit engagement, a few clear next steps are emerging. These actions will guide the ARISA Alliance as it continues to grow, strengthen collaboration, and shape the future of Europe’s AI skills ecosystem:

• Diversify funding sources by combining EU programmes, national/regional funding, and industry partnerships.
• Explore blended models that integrate revenue-generating activities, such as training, skills intelligence, or services—with public funding to ensure long-term sustainability.
• Encourage continued member engagement by sharing resources, initiatives, and expertise across the community.
• Prepare for ARISA’s final conference in March (details will be shared soon), where the conversation will continue and opportunities to shape the Alliance’s future will be discussed.

Join the Alliance

The Artificial Intelligence Skills Alliance (ARISA) is inviting organisations to join as Associated Partners and help shape the future of AI skills in Europe. With over 40 public and private partners already on board, the alliance is bringing together a community committed to building a future-ready workforce, bridging Europe’s AI skills gap, and empowering the next generation of talent. By joining, partners can collaborate with like-minded AI enthusiasts, contribute to impactful initiatives, and play an active role in shaping Europe’s AI future. Interested organisations can fill in the online form to become part of this growing movement and make a tangible difference in AI education and skills development.