Free AI training for all, as government and industry programme expands to provide 10 million workers with key AI skills by 2030

Every adult in the UK is eligible to take free, newly benchmarked courses to gain practical AI skills for work – as the joint government and industry programme sees a major expansion to upskill 10 million workers.

In order to make Britain the fastest adopting AI country in the G7, the UK is setting 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 increasing the adoption of AI potentially unlocking up to £140 billion in annual economic output (note) as part of our plans for national renewal.

A selection of industry-developed AI courses, newly available on 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 under 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. The programme has already delivered one million courses since June through monumental government and industry efforts (note).

NHS workers and local government employees will be among those to benefit. Major public sector, business representative organisations, and industry partners onboarding – including Britain’s biggest employer, the NHS – is enabling government to raise the ambition to now reach 10 million workers this decade. This is equivalent to upskilling nearly a third of this country’s workforce and includes reaching at least 2 million SME employees. This is the biggest targeted training programme since Harold Wilson started the Open University (note).

Recognising that AI will bring changes to jobs and work as we know it, the Tech Secretary is also launching the new AI and the Future of Work Unit to remain front-footed in addressing inevitable challenges. 

Backed by a panel of experts from business and trade unions, the unit will provide the best analysis and evidence on AI’s impact on the economy and labour market to provide timely advice on when new policies should be implemented across government. It will ensure the AI transition boosts economic growth, supports workers to adapt, protects communities from the mistakes of past industrial change, and delivers a fair, dignified future of work for everyone, where people are supported into better jobs in a more productive economy.

Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Liz Kendall said

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.

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.

Research published today finds only 21% of UK workers feel confident using AI at work (note), and adoption remains low with only 1 in 6 UK businesses using AI as of mid-2025 (note). UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) report a lower rate of AI adoption, with micro businesses 45% less likely to adopt AI than large businesses (note).

The Technology Secretary will take to the stage at Bloomberg HQ in London today (Wednesday 28 January). As part of her speech, she will confirm the following

New partners – British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), Cisco, Cognizant, Confederation of British Industry (CBI), Department for Education (DfE), Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), Institute of Directors (IOD)
– Local Government Association (LGA), Multiverse, NHS, Pax8 and techUK will unlock AI upskilling for even more workers.

They will join the esteemed ranks of founding partners – Accenture, Amazon, Barclays, BT, Google, IBM, Intuit, Microsoft, Sage, SAS and Salesforce to take the AI Skills Boost programme to the next level and upskill 10 million workers with AI skills by 2030.

£27 million funding announced to kickstart government’s TechLocal scheme – part of the £187 million TechFirst programme – which will help employers fill or create up to 1,000 tech jobs in communities across the UK, and enable new professional practice courses, graduate traineeships, and work experience opportunities in AI.

Government has launched offers to apply for the Spärck AI Scholarship at 9 UK Universities. The scholarships will give up to 100 talented AI and STEM Master’s students access to industry partnerships, work placements and mentorship opportunities throughout their studies, alongside covering both tuition and living expenses.

This comes alongside government’s Skills for Life digital skills offer. The campaign provides easy access to thousands of free or government subsidised courses covering the essential digital skills people need for work and life, and digital skills people need to be able to take the next step towards a career in technology. AI is one of the pillars of the digital tech sector plan as part of the Industrial Strategy.

Since making the commitment in June, founding partners Accenture, Amazon, Barclays, BT, Google, IBM, Intuit, Microsoft, Sage, Salesforce, and SAS have been hard at work to get AI skills to millions of workers by the end of the decade. From workshops to online training, workforce and business outreach, all industry partners have played a crucial role in changing the lives of workers in communities country-wide. To see what this looks like firsthand and hear from people taking part in AI upskilling and the positive impact it’s had on them in their personal and professional lives, Secretary of State, Liz Kendall visited a Google Digital Garage session at Google HQ in London on Monday 26th January.

Notes to editors

Chair of Skills England and Co-Chair of the Digital Skills Council, Phil Smith

AI is moving at an incredible pace and presents huge opportunity for productivity and growth. Skills England has worked rapidly with tech companies to make sure the courses chosen for the AI Skills Boost programme provide the quality and capability businesses need right now.

It’s also a huge step forward that everyone who completes these short courses will get digital badges that properly recognise what they’ve learned. It’s a simple idea that will make a huge difference.

Matt Prebble, Head of Accenture in the UK and Ireland

AI gives us a unique opportunity to rethink and reinvent how UK businesses will transform and grow. We are on a mission to drive AI adoption by giving people the right skills to take advantage of this technology, enabling them to have a greater impact, faster, which is a truly exciting prospect for the UK workforce and the UK economy more broadly.

We are incredibly proud to be a part of the team driving this re-skilling agenda and actively contributing to the initiatives aimed at re-skilling 7.5 million people over the next 3 years and we welcome the new AI Skills Hub which will be a vital resource for our SME community.

Stephen Flaherty, Chief Technology Officer at Barclays

As a founding partner of the AI Skills Boost programme, we are proud to support this ambitious, cross-industry effort to help the UK workforce prepare for how AI is changing the world of work. Having rolled out AI access to 100,000 Barclays colleagues globally, we are seeing first-hand the benefits the technology can unlock when it is used thoughtfully and responsibly. The potential of AI is transformative, and by supporting practical, accessible training at scale, this programme can help ensure innovation delivers real value for workers, businesses and the wider economy.

BT CEO Allison Kirkby

AI is reshaping daily life, and all of us need the right skills to make the most of it. BT is doing more than anyone else to build, and connect people to, the next generation networks that will help the UK become an AI leader. We’re proud to be part of this national programme, supporting our colleagues and the businesses we serve to find the right courses through the AI Skills Portal. Upskilling is a major part of how we connect for good – helping more people benefit from a digital world.

Maureen Costello, Vice President, UK, Ireland and Sub-Saharan Africa, Google Cloud

We’re delighted to partner with the government to bring Google’s Al resources to even more people through the new Al Skills Boost hub. Whether it’s a small business owner or a young professional, the demand for hands-on digital training is soaring. AI upskilling initiatives are key to unlocking a productivity boost worth over £400 billion in growth by 2030. Since 2015, we’ve trained 1.2 million people across Britain, and we’re proud to continue this work to transform careers and communities in every corner of the country.

Leon Butler, Chief Executive IBM UK and Ireland

AI is transforming every industry and unlocking growth opportunities for businesses. Expanding access to free digital education programmes, such as AI Skills Boost, is key for workforce readiness and the adoption of AI for Business. Through IBM SkillsBuild, we have already supported millions of people worldwide to develop AI skills, and we are delighted to be accredited and aligned with the Skills England Framework. This represents an important step forward, and we are excited to see the initiative progress.

Intuit EMEA General Manager Leigh Thomas

AI is a growth enabler for small and medium-sized businesses, levelling the playing field, by giving them the opportunity to access the sort of technology solutions that larger businesses have access to. The announcement today is a great step forward in improving their bottom line, and we look forward to collaborating with government and other private sector partners to accelerate knowledge, understanding and adoption of AI tools by the businesses that need it most.

Darren Hardman, Microsoft UK CEO

AI is such a transformative technology that all of us, no matter our age or job, will need to have the skills to use and benefit from it. Not in 5 years’ time, but now so that we can become better creators, better thinkers, better entrepreneurs and better at competing internationally. At Microsoft, we’ve already trained more than 1.5 million people in AI in the UK, and working alongside these partners and the government we’ll train millions more. That’s how we make the most of the opportunity in front of us.

Steve Hare, CEO, Sage

Since government and industry came together to boost AI skills, we’ve seen lots of great progress in building capability and confidence across the workforce. At Sage, our AI Fundamentals course is one example of how we’re helping turn that momentum into action, giving people the skills to use AI responsibly. Empowering people – in particular, small businesses – with the tools to unlock AI’s potential and drive productivity across the economy remains a big priority.

Zahra Bahrololoumi, CEO of Salesforce UK and Ireland, said

The progress made since the launch of the AI Opportunities Action Plan proves that organisations aren’t just adopting AI, but actively preparing their workforce to take advantage of the agentic era. We are rapidly transitioning from the generative AI era, to the agentic enterprise era, where every company has AI, data, apps, and people all working seamlessly together. One year on, the AI Opportunities Action Plan is delivering the clarity and certainty that global businesses need to invest.

At Salesforce, we have seen first-hand that the barrier to AI adoption isn’t simply technology, but talent. That is why we are proud to support the AI Skills Taskforce in its mission to train 7.5 million workers. Through the government’s AI Skills Portal and our own Trailhead platform, we’re providing free AI training so that everyone, from learners to workers, can develop in-demand skills today – and for jobs of the future. By equipping the UK workforce with the skills to manage autonomous AI agents today, we are securing the UK’s productivity and competitiveness for the decade ahead.

Glyn Townsend, Senior Director of Education Services at SAS EMEA

We are at a critical juncture in upskilling the current workforce in AI, with many more generations in work, due to extended life expectancy and working age increase, whilst the technological advancements we are seeing are happening at unprecedented speed. These skills should be treated like other vital infrastructure, such as roads, schools and hospitals. SAS is therefore fully committed to making foundational educational content in data and AI available for free – and not just to the existing workforce, but also university students and apprentices.

We already partner with 120 academic institutions across the UK and will also be offering apprentices across the UK free access to our academic software and learning resources through SAS Skill Builder for Students – something I’m particularly excited about having joined the technology sector as a Modern Apprentice 30 years ago! SAS is already a critical partner for AI transformation across major government departments as well as a number of the government’s key growth areas, including health and life sciences, energy and financial services.

Shevaun Haviland, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce

More and more businesses tell us they are getting on board with AI but many also recognise they are not using it to its full potential. It is vital to the UK’s future prosperity that we fully embrace the opportunities AI can bring and give every employee the training to fully exploit it.

Naomi Weir, Technology and Innovation Director, CBI

AI presents a major opportunity to raise productivity, accelerate growth and create good jobs across the UK. But there are important actions for government, businesses and society to take to shape that future. I am therefore delighted to join the AI and the Future of Work Expert Panel, bringing on-the-ground business insight to help shape a practical, inclusive and evidence-based approach.

Members tell us that a critical enabler will be how well businesses and workers are equipped to create, navigate and adapt to the future of work. So the CBI is pleased to join the AI Skills Boost partnership and we look forward to working closely with government and partners to support delivery at scale, including through signposting to resources and providing valuable peer-learning opportunities for business leaders across the UK.

Sarah Walker, UK and Ireland Chief Executive Cisco

Cisco is pleased to support the government’s expansion of its AI upskilling mission. The Cisco Networking Academy has been providing digital skills courses in the UK since 1998, training close to 600,000 people with many more to come. We are proud to help ensure that communities in every corner of the country can benefit from technology and innovation. AI presents an enormous opportunity to unlock human potential, but only if we improve basic digital literacy and support people with AI skills across the UK. The AI Skills Boost is core to raising living standards and generating economic growth opportunities for the nation.

Rohit Gupta, United Kingdom and Ireland Managing Director, Cognizant

As a trusted partner to companies across all major industries in the UK for nearly 2 decades, and a strategic partner to multiple government departments, Cognizant is proud to contribute to the AI Upskilling Partnership and play a key role in equipping the nation’s workforce for the AI-powered future. Our commitment to helping the UK realise its ambition to lead globally in AI builds on our ongoing efforts to upskill people through our global Synapse initiative and our investment of $1 billion in AI innovation.

FSB Policy Chair, Tina McKenzie

Small businesses want to make the most of AI, but just under half (46%) say they don’t yet have the skills or knowledge to use it well. This ambitious partnership will help them – and their workforce – make the most of the new technology.

It’s good to see the government ensuring the benefits of AI reach real people because after all, adopting new technology is the key to a competitive economy.

Jonathan Geldart, Director General of the Institute of Directors

The Institute of Directors is pleased to join the AI Skills Boost partnership. AI is rapidly becoming a core capability for organisations of every size and sector, and boosting workforce confidence and competence will be critical to driving productivity, innovation and responsible adoption. By working together, we can help ensure UK businesses and their employees are ready to thrive in an AI enabled economy.

Cllr Louise Gittins, Chair of the Local Government Association

Local government stands ready to support this ambitious plan to upskill millions of the nation’s workers, including those in the public sector, on AI by 2030.

Councils know their communities best and can maximise the transformative benefits of AI, by encouraging local take-up of foundational courses and upskilling residents, businesses and their own workforce.

Euan Blair, Founder and CEO of Multiverse

AI upskilling is the best possible insurance policy against the changes automation will bring, and our best chance to capture the productivity gains. We have to react to this seismic disruption with equivalent ambition, and the ambition here is clear to make the UK the most AI literate country in the OECD, with skills that benefit employers and empower the workforce.

Harald Nuij, EMEA Chief Executive Officer at Pax8

Pax8 is committed to ensuring that businesses are not left behind in the AI transformation. Our ecosystem of Managed Intelligence Providers plays a crucial role in enabling smaller businesses to adopt new technologies with confidence. We are proud to support this national effort alongside DSIT and other leading organisations, and we look forward to helping people across the UK build the AI skills they need to thrive.

Julian David OBE, CEO of techUK

techUK is proud to join this partnership, working with industry and government to help equip 10 million people with the skills needed to use AI confidently and responsibly. Our members bring both the expertise to build these capabilities and the experience to support the delivery of high-quality, industry-backed training across the UK economy.

Sue Duke, VP Global Public Policy and Managing Director for EMEA and LATAM at LinkedIn

This is a welcome step in the Government’s ambition to become a global leader in AI – which has the potential to add productive capacity gains of more than £400 billion to the UK economy.

Realising the opportunity can only happen with coordinated action to widen and accelerate access to AI skills. The updated Skills Hub helps do that by offering free, high-quality training across every sector to support better jobs and strengthen the UK’s global competitiveness.

Prospect General Secretary Mike Clancy

The world of work is changing rapidly, with AI and other technologies altering the content, nature, and pace of work in almost every corner of the economy. Workers can benefit from this transition, but only if steps are taken to prepare people and organisations for change, and if the workforce is given a real voice in the process. We also need a coordinated workforce plan to make sure short-term AI-related job cuts, particularly in lower level or graduate jobs, do not leave us with higher level skills shortages further down the line.

Prospect are proud to represent some of the most skilled workers in Britain, including in tech and many of the industries that will power future economic growth, and I’m delighted to have been asked to serve on this panel and contribute our expertise on this subject. I hope we can help the government to be on the front foot and work with them to ensure working people share in the benefits of the AI revolution.

Daniel Susskind (Mercers’ School Memorial Professor of Business at Gresham College)

Understanding the impact of AI on work is one of the great challenges of our time. I am delighted to be joining this important panel, alongside such thoughtful and experienced fellow members. 

PwC UK’s CTO Umang Paw

AI isn’t coming – it’s here, and it’s rewriting the rules of work. Some roles are becoming more accessible; others demand skills that didn’t exist 5 years ago. Expanding access to training isn’t a nice-to-have; it’s how we ensure no one gets left behind. We’re living this ourselves at PwC, embedding lifelong learning into how we work and through this initiative, we’re helping bring that same opportunity to millions across the UK.

AI Skills Boost

AI Skills Boost gives people free access to complete AI training – providing practical AI skills for work. People will be able to gain a government-backed virtual AI foundations badge for completing selected training courses.

Training is available on the revamped AI Skills Hub, a free site where users can create a learning profile and follow a tailored learning journey beyond the foundations training.

AI and the Future of Work Unit

This will be a new Unit that will research and monitor AI’s economic and labour market impacts to provide timely advice on when new policies should be implemented. The Unit will also lead across government on the AI and the Future of Work Programme.

This programme will prepare the UK for AI-driven labour market transformation. The programme will be guided by the principles of recognising that work is fundamental to human dignity, ensuring people benefit from this once-in-a-generation transformation, prioritising economic growth through AI adoption, supporting workers to update their skills, and establishing a positive, practical vision for the future.

An expert panel of industry, academia, civil society and trade union representatives will support the Unit, providing strategic insight to its work, supporting external collaboration, and enabling the effective delivery of the work programme. Members include Daniel Susskind, Diane Coyle, Abigail Gilbert (IFOW), Naomi Weir (CBI), and Mike Clancy (Prospect Union).

TechLocal

As part of the £187 million TechFirst programme, government has launched application details for the £27 million TechLocal scheme which will support local employers and help people get access to job opportunities.

The funding over 4 years, will be available to UK registered businesses and learning providers to bid for through 2 competitions. The first will fund UK education providers to develop innovative AI degrees and graduate traineeships, ensuring graduates are equipped for immediate impact in the workforce, and the second will get more people into tech jobs in their local community.

Full list of industry and public sector partners as of January 2026

• Accenture
• Amazon
• Barclays
• British Chambers of Commerce (BCC)
• BT
• Cisco
• Cognizant
• Confederation of British Industry (CBI)
• Department for Education (DfE)
• Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
• Federation of Small Businesses (FSB)
• Google
• IBM
• Institute of Directors (IOD)
• Intuit
• Local Government Association (LGA)
• Microsoft
• Multiverse
• NHS
• Pax8
• PwC (Delivery Partner)
• Sage
• Salesforce
• SAS
• techUK

Sources

1. DSIT analysis of OECD modelling
2. This number is based on self-reported calculations provided by 11 industry partners on AI upskilling they have delivered in the UK since 2025
3. Claim based on ~2 million people having Open University degrees versus aiming to reach 10 million workers through AI Skills Boost initiative
4. AI Skills for Life and Work summary report
5. AI Adoption Research
6. Data from business insights and impact on the UK economy – ONS. Large businesses (250+) have an adoption rate of 44.4% and micro businesses (fewer than 10) have an adoption rate of 24.3%. Calculation (44.4% – 24.3%) / 44.4% = 45.3%