Prime Minister Keir Starmer has unveiled a national AI skills drive to underpin a new industrial strategy and drive for economic growth.
Under new plans, one million pupils across the country will be given the skills and tools needed to get the AI-powered jobs of the future thanks to a new skills programme.
The £187 million government “TechFirst” programme will be core to that aim – to bring digital skills and AI learning into classrooms and communities and train up people of all ages and backgrounds for the tech careers of the future, the prime minister said.
Speaking at an event today, the PM said: ““We are putting the power of AI into the hands of the next generation – so they can shape the future, not be shaped by it.
“This training programme will unlock opportunity in every classroom – and lays the foundations for a new era of growth.
“Too many children from working families like the one I grew up in are written off. I am determined to end that. This programme is the Plan for Change in action – breaking down barriers, driving innovation, and giving every young person the chance of a good, well paid job and a bright future.”
“TechYouth” – backed by £24 million of government funding – will give 1 million students over three years across every secondary school in the UK the chance to learn about technology and gain access to new skills training and career opportunities.
There will also be an online platform to inspire and educate students about the potential of computing and tech careers – building on CyberFirst’s Explorers which has access to most secondary schools in the UK with 100,000 students registered already. This will bring together learning tools and training opportunities in a streamlined accessible space.
In each of the UK’s regions and nations, a local delivery partner will be selected by DSIT to run the programme and deliver activities to schools and colleges in local areas.
The AI sector alone is valued at £72.3 billion and is projected to exceed £800 billion by 2035. It is growing 30 times faster than the rest of the economy, employing over 64,000 people across more than 3,700 companies.
TechFirst will also support over 4,000 graduates, researchers, and innovators through three additional strands:
- TechGrad (£96.8m) – will support 1,000 exceptional domestic students a year with undergraduate scholarships in areas like AI, cyber security, and computer science. This will also go towards 100 Research MSc places in key tech sectors, and 100 elite AI scholarships. Applicants will be able to apply to the scheme online and those successful will have their bursaries paid from a central fund.
- TechExpert (£48.4m) – will give up to £10,000 in additional funding to 500 domestic PhD students conducting research in tech with the aim of accelerating cutting-edge innovation, strengthen the UK’s research pipeline in strategic technology sectors, and ensure that emerging talent is supported to contribute to national tech leadership.
- TechLocal (£18m) – will offer seed funding to help regional innovators and small businesses develop new tech products and adopt AI. A panel made up of local tech businesses will be established in each region to decide which applications have merit, with the necessary checks then done centrally by Innovate UK.
Major industry players including IBM, BAE Systems, QinetiQ, BT, Microsoft and the Careers & Enterprise Company – the national body for careers education – have backed the initiative.
TechFirst builds on the success of the CyberFirst programme, which has already helped hundreds of thousands of young people gain cyber security skills.
Science minister Peter Kyle said: “We are getting Brits ready for jobs of the future by helping millions across the country gain vital digital skills in AI and beyond.
“Embedding these skills into our education system and local communities will help people of all backgrounds and ensure tech talent flourishes in every corner of our nation.
“These partnerships with industry will translate skills into real jobs and economic growth, putting more money in people’s pockets and breaking down barriers to opportunity. This is our Plan for Change in action – investing in the skills that will power our economy and deliver prosperity for working people across the country.”