"It's about embedding AI skills across your people and processes" – Q&A with Tahira Suleman, founder of AIQual

“ It’s about embedding AI skills across your people and processes” – Q&A with Tahira Suleman, founder of AIQual AI Skills for Business Competency Framework Case Study Series “ It’s about embedding AI skills across your people and processes” Tahira Suleman, founder of AIQual Tahira Suleman, founder of the consultancy service AIQual, works with organisations across sectors to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) in a responsible, sustainable and strategically beneficial way. In this Q&A, Tahira shares how the AI Skills for Business Competency Framework plays a vital role in that work – from auditing skills and guiding upskilling strategies to helping ground conversations with clients in objective reference points and real-world use cases. She also reflects on the challenges facing businesses and universities in this area, and why developing AI skills must be a human-first initiative. Key takeaways • Building AI skills alongside AI adoption is critical for organisations to use new technologies responsibly and effectively. • Foundational AI literacy – understanding what AI is and isn’t – is the essential starting point for any workforce. • The AI Skills for Business Competency Framework provides a clear, objective structure to guide skills audits and development plans. • The framework can and should be adapted and translated for specific sectors, roles or levels of technical expertise. • Embedding AI skills into wider organisational strategies – rather than relying on one-off training – is key to achieving sustainable AI adoption. • As AI becomes more widespread, the ability to critically interpret, oversee and contextualise AI outputs will be a defining human skill. 2 Business applications of Artificial Intelligence2 Q&A: Tahira Suleman, AIQual Can you start by introducing yourself and your organisation, and describe your role in relation to AI skills? Tahira: I’m Tahira Suleman, founder of AIQual. We’re a consultancy that helps small to medium-sized enterprises and regulated professional services adopt AI responsibly and strategically. From the outset, one of our core goals has been to ensure that AI skills development happens in tandem with AI implementation. It’s not about building a tool first and then figuring out the training later – skills need to be part of the strategy from day one. To support that, we developed our own Artificial Intelligence Qualification Framework (AIQ), which we use alongside the AI Skills for Business Competency Framework. AIQ is a structured tool designed to help other organisations assess whether AI is the right fit for their business. It identifies practical, risk-assessed AI opportunities by evaluating strategy, process, data, technology and readiness. We use this to ensure decisions are grounded, ethical and aligned with real business needs. We apply these frameworks in parallel to help organisations not just build solutions but develop the capabilities needed to use them effectively and sustainably. 3 Business applications of Artificial Intelligence3 Q&A: Tahira Suleman, AIQual 4 Business applications of Artificial Intelligence Why do you think AI skills are so important in today’s workforce? Tahira: AI is no longer something futuristic – it’s already reshaping work across industries, whether you’re in construction, finance, healthcare, law or accounting. Because of that, having AI-literate teams has become essential. Even if an organisation isn’t developing its own AI tools, it’s probably working with outputs from AI or partnering with companies that do. Understanding AI enables organisations to remain competitive, stay compliant, and keep their focus human-centred. When workforces are upskilled, they know how to collaborate with AI tools and make informed decisions about when and how to use them. “ It’s not about building a tool first and then figuring out the training later – skills need to be part of the AI adoption strategy from day one.” 4 Business applications of Artificial Intelligence4 Q&A: Tahira Suleman, AIQual In your view, what are the most critical AI skills that businesses should focus on? Tahira: The first skill is foundational AI literacy. Even understanding what we mean by ‘AI’ is important – there are so many interpretations out there. We often conflate machine learning, LLMs, and other technologies. But when people understand what AI is and what it isn’t, they’re better able to navigate its potential and its limits. Beyond that, there are domain-specific skills about understanding how to evaluate processes, work with data, assess risk, and approach ethics. Then there’s critical thinking – knowing how to apply AI thoughtfully in your specific context. Ultimately, it’s the combination of human insight and technical awareness that delivers real value. How do you use the AI Skills for Business Competency Framework in practice? Tahira: We use the framework in several ways. First, it helps us ground conversations with clients. When a company is trying to work out what it needs, the framework gives us a shared, objective reference point – it brings structure to what can otherwise be a very vague area. And we try to tie the framework to real-world examples and use cases. We also use it for skills auditing. We’ll look at what an organisation already has in place, and then map out what skills need to be built, validated, or hired for. That approach helps leadership make more confident decisions and leads to more sustainable AI adoption. It’s not just about implementing a tool and walking away. We’re also using the framework in universities. For example, we recently ran a session for final-year law students, many of whom are entering a world that’s very different from when they started their degrees. The framework helped us translate what AI competency means in their context and gave them a way to demonstrate what they know to potential employers, even in a rapidly changing job market. In fact, I see a huge opportunity to help universities prepare their students to enter the workforce in the AI era. 5 Q&A: Tahira Suleman, AIQual What challenges do you see when organisations try to build AI skills, and how does the framework help address them? Tahira: One major challenge is the hype around AI. Organisations often rush to adopt tools without fully understanding their risks or limitations. We use both our qualification framework and the competency framework to bring those conversations back down to earth. As I alluded to earlier, it helps us move the discussion beyond personal opinions about AI, or what we might hope the technology can do for us. The framework also helps demonstrate where training is needed, which supports compliance with standards like ISO 42001 by showing that you’re not just using AI tools, but putting the right people and processes in place too. That said, one of the challenges with the framework is that it can be quite complex to navigate, especially for non-technical teams. It’s not something most people can just pick up and run with, and while it’s not necessarily intended to be that way, nevertheless we often have to translate it for different audiences. I think there’s room to make it more accessible, particularly by tailoring it to specific jobs or industries. After all, it’s going to become a hybrid world: AI and law, AI and healthcare, AI and construction, and so on. That’s why we use our own framework in tandem with the AI Skills for Business Competency Framework – to simplify where needed, map competencies to specific roles, and adapt our approach depending on the client. 6 Q&A: Tahira Suleman, AIQual Looking ahead, what should organisations prioritise when it comes to AI skills? And what advice would you give to people who are interested in using the AI Skills for Business Competency Framework? Tahira: Start small, but start now. Some competencies are easier to adopt than others, and some are relevant to everyone in your organisation. The framework can be used as a mirror – hold it up to your organisation, find the gaps, and work out how to close them. Don’t wait for the perfect moment or the perfect tool. Also, make it part of your broader strategy. This isn’t just about one-off training sessions – it’s about embedding AI skills across your people and processes. That’s how you get value out of your investment in AI. Finally, as AI evolves, it’s the uniquely human skills – such as how to interpret and oversee AI-derived knowledge and outputs – that will become most valuable. It’s not about replacing people, but about redefining value. “ It’s the uniquely human skills – how to interpret and oversee AI-derived knowledge – that will become most valuable as time goes on.” 7 Business applications of Artificial Intelligence7 Q&A: Tahira Suleman, AIQual This case study is published under the AI Skills for Business Competency Framework workstream. The framework sets out the high-level competencies required to ensure the safe and responsible introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to organisations from the general workforce, through to AI specialists and leadership. It is sponsored by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and is funded by the Innovate UK BridgeAI programme, which empowers UK businesses in high-growth sectors, driving productivity and economic growth through the adoption of AI. This work is supported by a consortium including Innovate UK, Digital Catapult, The Alan Turing Institute, STFC Hartree Centre and BSI. Since its launch in May 2024, the Framework been adopted across public, private and government organisations in the UK. We would like to extend our gratitude to Tahira Suleman, founder of AIQual, for her significant contributions to the development of this case study. Special thanks to Alexandra Araujo Alvarez, Senior Research Community Manager for BridgeAI, Dominica D’Arcangelo, Programme Manager, and Marie Chappell, Programme Coordinator, from the Alan Turing Institute for their leadership and support. We also thank Stuart Gillespie for his role as the technical writer for this and other case studies in the programme. This work is led by Dr. Matthew Forshaw (Senior Advisor for Skills) and Dr. Clementina Ramirez (Skills Officer). Dr. Vera Matser (Head of Strategic Capabilities) is Principal Investigator for BridgeAI at The Alan Turing Institute. For any comments, questions, or collaboration opportunities with BridgeAI, please email: [email protected]. Acknowledgement Authors and Contributors Stuart Gillespie: Technical Writer (0009-0003-1402-0184) Tahira Suleman: AIQual, Founder (0009-0005-0506-9650) Matthew Forshaw: The Alan Turing Institute, Senior Advisor for Skills (0000-0001-7014-9837) Clementina Ramirez: The Alan Turing Institute, Skills Officer (0000-0002-6643-8828) This publication is shared under CC-BY 4.0 License on Zenodo. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17435034 8 Business applications of Artificial Intelligence8 Q&A: Tahira Suleman, AIQual Learn more at bridgeai.net