The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed a pilot scheme that will see unemployed young people in north-west England take part in artificial intelligence (AI) boot camps to become job-ready. The pilot, which starts this week, will provide three weeks of training to up to 70 people aged 16 to 21.
The scheme is part of the Labour government's latest attempt to address the NEET (not in education, employment or training) crisis. Participants will learn to build AI tools, understand how businesses use AI, and learn to use the technology responsibly. The training also includes workplace skills such as using office IT systems and timekeeping.
Government and expert backing
Lisa Nandy, the digital, culture, media and sport secretary, said the scheme would “support young people at a crucial juncture in their lives”. Bouke Klein Teeselink, an academic at King’s College London and an expert on the impact of AI on work, called the boot camp a “good idea in principle”.
“What we need to do is make juniors more attractive to companies and one way to do that is make them more productive by teaching them how to do AI well,” he said. The UK’s AI minister, Kanishka Narayan, said the programme would give young people “the skills they need to thrive in the AI workplace”.
Details of the pilot and future rollout
Narayan added: “AI is already transforming the world of work, from time-saving tools that cut out admin through to high-end tech that’s boosting vital fields like medical research. This is a huge opportunity that will directly benefit young people across the country. This new scheme is about giving them the skills they need to thrive in the AI workplace, and build careers in some of our most exciting industries.”
The pilot scheme will test best practice, and the results will be used to inform an England-wide AI skills and early careers scheme that will roll out next summer.
