Every adult in the UK is now eligible to take free, newly benchmarked courses to gain practical AI skills for work. The move forms part of a joint government and industry programme which aims to upskill some 10 million workers.
In an accompanying statement, governement said its goal is to make Britain the fastest adopting AI country in the G7. To do this, it has set ambitious targets to ensure the workforce is adequately skilled, confident, and ready to grasp the full opportunities of AI.
This could create more higher-skilled jobs and free workers up from routine tasks, with the adoption of AI potentially unlocking up to £140 billion in annual economic output as part of plans for national renewal, it said.
How to access the courses
A selection of industry-developed AI courses, newly available on the government’s AI Skills Hub, have been checked against Skills England’s AI foundation skills for work benchmark, with those who complete these courses receiving a virtual AI foundations badge.
Open to all UK adults online, taking as little as 20 minutes, the courses will give people the skills needed to use simple AI tools effectively in the workplace and teach the use of AI for tasks like drafting text, creating content and completing administrative tasks, to free up time to focus on other work.
This training will give both workers and employers confidence in their new skills, and set standards for what good AI upskilling looks like.
“We want AI to work for Britain, and that means ensuring Britons can work with AI. Change is inevitable, but the consequences of change are not. We will protect people from the risks of AI while ensuring everyone can share in its benefits,” said Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Liz Kendall
“That starts with giving people the skills and confidence they need to seize the opportunities AI brings, putting the power and control into their hands.”
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