HiBob launches AI skills framework for UK employers

HiBob has launched an AI Skills Framework and an AI Skills Assessment Guide after research found most UK employers expect AI proficiency to become a standard requirement across non-technical roles.

The study of 200 UK business leaders involved in hiring and assessing AI talent found 77% expect AI proficiency to become a baseline requirement within the next two years. It also found 82% are investing in AI upskilling or reskilling, while 80% have a defined strategy for sourcing candidates with AI skills.

Despite that activity, employers have yet to settle on a common approach to building AI-ready workforces. No single recruitment method was used by more than 35% of organisations, and no learning approach by more than a third.

Among hiring tactics, 35% said they build talent communities and nurture sequences featuring AI content, 31% use applicant tracking system tagging, and 29% rely on referral campaigns. On learning and development, 33% provide funded AI learning, 33% give employees protected time to practise with AI, and 31% offer prompt and workflow libraries.

The findings also suggest AI skills are becoming part of broader workplace assessment. Some 63% of organisations said they consider AI skills in promotion decisions, while 61% factor them into performance reviews and 31% take them into account when determining pay.

Pay pressure is also emerging. The research found 97% of organisations would pay at least a 10% salary premium for at least one AI capability, indicating strong competition for workers who can use AI effectively.

Workforce shift

HiBob said its new framework is intended to help employers define the AI skills needed for different roles and apply those definitions to job expectations, employee development, and talent decisions. The assessment guide is aimed at hiring teams that need a more structured way to evaluate candidates' AI skills.

The launch reflects a broader shift in how companies view AI at work. Rather than treating AI knowledge as a specialist skill limited to technical teams, employers are increasingly applying it across a wider range of everyday roles.

That shift creates a challenge for managers and human resources teams, as AI adoption is moving faster than agreed standards for hiring, training, and measurement. The survey results suggest organisations are investing and setting strategies, but still testing different models rather than following a settled blueprint.

HiBob, which sells human resources software, said the issue is not only access to tools but also how organisations identify and track skills across the workforce. It argues that fragmented systems and incomplete skills data make it harder for employers to understand where AI knowledge exists and where gaps remain.

A note in the research said the survey was carried out by Censuswide among 200 UK respondents responsible for, or involved in, hiring and assessing AI skills in prospective employees.

Ronni Zehavi, chief executive officer and co-founder of HiBob, said: "Too many organisations are still trying to manage a changing workforce with disconnected systems and fragmented skills data. That is the wrong model for the AI era. The winners in the AI era will be the organisations that can define a shared language of skills, identify where capability truly sits, and pivot talent to where it creates the most value. That is the system we are enabling today."

Zehavi added: "Skills are no longer just a people topic. They are central to how organisations adapt, grow, and compete. With the AI Skills Framework, the AI Skills Assessment Guide, and Bob's Skills and Jobs Catalogues, we are helping organisations move from abstract AI ambition to a more connected, practical, and actionable view of workforce capability."