Tech giants Google, Amazon, Microsoft and BT are some of the major companies that are expected to work with the UK Government to establish a framework to enhance the AI skills of a fifth of UK workers.

Tasked with boosting UK growth and unlocking more high-paying jobs, the industry-government partnership is mainly focused on teaching the future skills that employees across the UK will need to make the most of AI.

According to Peter Kyle, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, AI is the next economic frontier, and it is essential to give Brits the tools to embrace jobs of the future.

“If we want to realise AI’s 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 – especially given we expect around 10 million workers to be using AI in their day-to-day role by 2035,” explained Kyle.

This ambitious plan is expected to address skills gaps and help support economic growth, particularly in the digital economy. Each corporate partner is committed to using its own specific expertise to upskill UK workers. For example, IBM will be drawing on its IBM SkillsBuild training initiatives to create training modules on how to use AI confidently.

A total of 13,250 jobs have been created in the UK since the launch of the AI Opportunities Action Plan in January this year, alongside £44 billion ($59 billion) of AI investment being made in the UK in the 12 months since the current Government took office.

For Alison Kay, Vice President and Managing Director, UK and Ireland at AWS, offering access to advanced digital skills is key to unlocking the potential of AI in the UK.

“That’s why at Amazon, we’re proud to support the UK Government to achieve its goal to train 7.5 million people in AI skills through initiatives like this, and through programmes such as AWS Educate, AWS Skill Builder, and the Skills to Jobs Tech Alliance, which are free for learners,” she added.

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