Free AI bootcamps to launch across England with guaranteed paid apprenticeships
Key Points
- The UK government has announced a free AI bootcamp scheme across England, with a paid AI apprenticeship guaranteed to those who complete it.
- A pilot launches this summer across five areas in Lancashire and Greater Manchester, targeting young people at risk of unemployment after their GCSEs.
- Apprenticeships will be backed by employers including JD Sports, BAE Systems, PA Consulting and Agilisys, with delivery partner IN4 Group running the pilot.
- A nationwide rollout across England is planned for the 2027 to 2028 academic year if the pilot succeeds.
- A separate North East pilot launches in early 2027, offering at least six months of AI job training with Accenture, Microsoft and Sage.
The government has announced plans to roll out a free AI bootcamp scheme across England, with young people who complete the course guaranteed a fully paid AI apprenticeship.
The scheme was announced by Technology Secretary Liz Kendall on Saturday (6 June) as part of a wider package of measures aimed at supporting young people into work as AI changes the jobs market.
The bootcamp programme will begin this summer with a pilot covering five local areas in Lancashire and Greater Manchester. It will target young people at risk of leaving school after their GCSEs and entering unemployment.
According to the government, the pilot will provide participants with workplace and entry-level AI training, before guaranteeing those who complete the bootcamp a fully paid AI apprenticeship.
These apprenticeships will be facilitated by local employers including JD Sports, BAE Systems, PA Consulting, Agilisys, and Wigan, Blackpool, Oldham, Blackburn and Lancashire councils.
The pilot will be run by delivery partner IN4 Group and will reach young people across Wigan, Blackpool, Oldham, Blackburn and Lancashire. The employers backing the pilot will offer paid Level 3 apprenticeships to young people who successfully complete the bootcamp.
If the pilot is successful, the government said the learnings will support the rollout of a nationwide AI bootcamp programme across England in the 2027 to 2028 academic year.
Seperate pilot in the North East
A separate pilot will launch in early 2027 around the North East’s AI Growth Zone. Focused on young people who are already out of work and training, the programme will provide at least six months of work with hands-on job training in AI from employers including Accenture, Microsoft and Sage. It will be delivered through the government’s Jobs Guarantee.
The bootcamp scheme forms part of a wider package that also includes the launch of the Early Careers Jobs Alliance, a £20 million partnership between government, employers, trade unions and young people to map how entry-level work is changing as AI is adopted.
The alliance is co-chaired by Prospect’s General Secretary Mike Clancy and the government’s AI Champion for the Digital and Technologies sector, Katie Gallagher OBE.
The package also includes a commitment that at least 400,000 students from some of the most disadvantaged schools will be supported to take up AI and tech skills through TechFirst, the government’s nationwide tech skills programme.
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Liz Kendall said: “My priority is building an AI future that is pro-business and pro-worker, where AI enhances work, and people are supported through the jobs transition – not left to cope on their own.”
She added: “I’m determined to give young people the jobs and skills they need to thrive in an era of technological change, and am taking action now to create a future that truly works for all.”
