Employer Skills Survey 2024 - Scotland

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Net Zero

New questions were asked in 2024 that asked about AI use by employers, as well as their Net Zero strategy.

AI use by employers refers to machine or software uses that imitate human behaviour such as problem-solving, learning, playing and communicating (for example natural language processing). This use could be at any level and for any task, including recent generative tools such as ChatGPT or Microsoft Co-pilot, and more complex solutions including machine and robotic automation.

A Net Zero site means that the site’s carbon emissions are equal to, or less than, the amount of carbon being removed from the atmosphere by the site.

Artificial Intelligence

Just over one in ten sites reported using AI (11%), and the majority said they do not use AI at their site (86%). Of the employers who reported using AI (11%), the majority of these sites had 100 or more employees (21%). Smaller employees (with 2 to 4 employees) were most likely to have not used any AI (88%).

Overall, AI use was most common among employers with 100 or more employees (21%) and those with 50 to 99 employees (16%).

Figure 28: Use of AI by site size in 2024

Base: All sites in Scotland (2024: 5080).

By sector, AI was most commonly used within Information and Communication (33%), Financial Services (21%) and Education (21%). AI use was least common in Construction (93%), Primary Sector and Utilities (92%) and Transport and Storage (91%).

Most sites who used AI had started in the last 12 months (67%). Employers were asked if they were likely to adopt AI. Employers with 100 or more employees were more likely to adopt AI (14%), compared to the average (8%). Of those sites planning to adopt AI, a small proportion indicated it would be in the next year (2%), with slightly larger proportions expecting it to be in one to three years (4%) or over three years (2%). Among smaller employers, the majority had no plans to adopt AI (81% of those with 2 to 4 employees, and 76% of those with 5 to 24 employees).

Of the employers who had used AI, almost nine in ten (87%) expected to embed AI into their processes and operations to at least some extent. Of these employers, 60% expected to embed to some extent, and 27% to a great extent. Employers with 50 to 99 employees were more likely than average to expect to embed AI to a great extent (41% compared to the 27% average).

Net Zero

Overall, 16% of sites already had a Net Zero strategy in place. Employers with 100 or more employees were most likely to have a strategy in place (35%). A small proportion of sites reported already being at Net Zero (3%). Around half (46%) had no plans to become Net Zero; this was more likely among smaller employers with 2 to 4 employees (53%) and those in the Construction sector (56%).

Figure 29: Whether the site has Net Zero strategy in place

Base: All sites in Scotland (2024: 5,080).