Anna Ashton-Scott is Programme Manager for Professional Development in The Data Lab – Scotland’s Innovation Centre for Data & AI. With a background in arts and humanities and over 20 years’ experience supporting education and skills initiatives in Higher Education and Non-Profit organisations, Anna leads the team delivering The Data Lab’s portfolio of online learning, leadership education and upskilling initiatives. She set up the Data Skills for Work programme, part of the Data Driven Innovation Skills Gateway, in November 2019, designed to support workers to gain vital skills to help them adapt to the demands of increasingly digitalised, automated, and data-driven workplaces. To date the programme has directly supported 1,000 people to upskill across Edinburgh & South East Scotland, and has recently expanded into the Tay Cities region. Anna is passionate about breaking down barriers to learning and creating opportunities for people from diverse backgrounds and experiences to gain the skills to match the changing needs of our workforce.