A fifth of the UK workforce will be supported with the AI skills they need to thrive in their jobs, claims Technology Secretary Peter Kyle, under a new government-industry partnership.
As Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer unveiled the partnership during London Tech Week, Kyle met the likes of Amazon, Barclays, BT, Google, IBM, Intuit, Microsoft, Sage and Salesforce to kick off its work.
The talks focused on how industry and government can work together to identify future skills needs and make training more accessible. During the meeting, the group worked towards agreeing terms of reference and a schedule of regular meetings helping to track its progress.聽
鈥淎rtificial intelligence is the new economic frontier, and we want to get Brits ready for jobs of the future so we can spark the growth powering our Plan for Change,鈥� said Kyle.
鈥淚f we want to realise AI鈥檚 incredible potential though, we need to make sure people of all ages and from all parts of the UK have the skills they need for jobs both in and with the technology 鈥� especially given we expect around 10m workers to be using AI in their day-to-day role by 2035.聽
鈥淲ithin days of announcing that we鈥檙e partnering with some of the world鈥檚 biggest tech leaders to help us do exactly that, we鈥檙e getting them around the table 鈥� representing a vote of confidence not only in Britain鈥檚 workers, but in the potential we offer as a global AI powerhouse.鈥�
Companies who have signed up to this partnership will all bring a different area of expertise to its work. Microsoft has already committed to upskilling 1m workers in AI by the end of the year, while firms including SAS and Sage will provide high-quality AI training resources for workers, boosting their confidence in using and adopting the technology.聽
IBM is also set to tap into the power of its IBM SkillsBuild training programmes to roll out targeted training modules for workers, arming them with the tools they need to confidently adopt and use AI.
Leon Butler, chief executive, IBM UK and Ireland, was among several spokespeople from tech giants to back the initiative.
鈥淎I is helping to transform every industry – opening opportunities to innovate and unlock new forms of value,鈥� he said. 鈥淐reating a workforce that understands digital technologies will be crucial to boost AI adoption and so realise its huge benefits for business and society.
鈥淚BM is proud to support the government鈥檚 efforts to train more of the UK workforce in AI.鈥�