The UK government is rolling out an ambitious plan to equip the entire workforce with artificial intelligence skills, betting that widespread AI adoption could add £140 billion ($193 billion) to the economy each year.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said the government will make AI training available to all UK workers, aiming to ensure people can effectively use the technology rather than be side-lined by it. The announcement comes as AI’s growing influence sparks concern about job displacement across the country.
Under the initiative, online courses created by British industry will be offered to every UK adult. These courses will focus on practical uses of AI, such as drafting text, creating digital content, and handling administrative tasks. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) said this would allow workers to concentrate on higher-value responsibilities while giving employers greater confidence in their teams’ capabilities.
The move follows mounting warnings about AI’s impact on employment. Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said last month that AI will displace workers, even as it improves productivity. Research by Morgan Stanley seen by Bloomberg this week also found that the UK is losing more jobs than it is creating due to AI — and at a faster pace than many international peers.
“We want AI to work for Britain, and that means ensuring Britons can work with AI,” Kendall said in the statement. “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.”
To help shape policy around these challenges, DSIT announced the creation of an AI and the Future of Work Unit. The unit will study how AI is reshaping employment and advise the government on how to respond.
The department described the training push as the largest targeted education effort since the creation of the Open University in the late 1960s. Building on programs that have already delivered 1 million courses, the government now aims to train 10 million workers over the course of this decade.
Kendall is expected to outline the next phase of the plan during a speech on AI at Bloomberg’s London office on Wednesday. She will announce new partners, including Cisco, Cognizant, and the National Health Service, joining existing collaborators such as Amazon, Barclays, Google, Microsoft, Sage, and Salesforce as the government expands its nationwide AI training drive.
