Explore KSACs by Pathway

In late 2025, the Partnership pulled together members of industry from across tech to share how the in-demand skillsets for entry-level roles in their fields have changed in the last two years. The Knowledge, Skills & Abilities and Credentials (KSACs) below reflect their feedback on entry-level expectations, especially in a tech workplace increasingly shaped by AI.

Previously two separate KSA lists, Data Management and Analytics have been combined as of 2026. This is in direct response to feedback from members of industry, who shared that with the onset of generative AI, most entry-level data roles will require literacy in skillsets across both of these two specializations.

8. Ethics, Privacy, and Responsible AI Use

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Label KSAC Description Bloom's Taxonomy Level
a Explain legal and regulatory constraints on data use knowledge 2
b Explain ethical risks in analytics and AI systems, including unintended consequences of automated decisions knowledge 2
c Identify bias in data, models, and AI-generated outputs and understand potential impacts knowledge 3
d Explain privacy considerations in data collection, storage, and usage knowledge 2
e Identify risks of AI hallucination, misuse, and overreliance on automated outputs knowledge 3
f Apply ethical and governance principles to evaluate whether AI-assisted data use is appropriate, responsible, and compliant ability 4

Credentials

Vendor Certifications - DBMS

  1. Oracle Associate
  2. Microsoft
  3. IBM

Vendor Certifications - Cloud

  1. AWS
  2. Oracle
  3. Microsoft

Vendor Certifications - Tools

  1. Tableau
  2. SAS

Others

  1. DAMA CDMP
  2. DataCamp Certificate