UK adults are being offered free, government-benchmarked AI training for work as part of a national programme to upskill 10 million people by 2030 and address low confidence and adoption of artificial intelligence across the economy.
UK Government Expands Free AI Training Programme
The UK government has announced a major expansion of its national AI skills programme, making free AI training available to every adult in the country through the AI Skills Boost initiative. Led by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology in partnership with Skills England, the programme is being positioned as a response to growing concerns about workforce readiness as artificial intelligence becomes more widely embedded across workplaces.
10 Million People By 2030
The expansion builds on a commitment made in June 2025, when government and industry partners first set out plans to train 7.5 million workers in AI-related skills. The latest announcement increases that ambition to 10 million people by the end of the decade, equivalent to nearly a third of the UK workforce, and frames the initiative as the largest targeted training programme since the creation of the Open University.
Who Can Access The Training And How?
The training is open to all UK adults and is delivered online through the government’s AI Skills Hub, a free platform where users can create a learning profile and follow a structured learning journey. No prior technical knowledge is required, and the courses are designed to be accessible alongside existing work or caring commitments.
Courses vary in length, with some taking under 20 minutes to complete, while others run for several hours. Participation is voluntary, and learners can choose which courses to take based on their role, interests or level of confidence with digital tools. The government has said that NHS staff and local government employees will be among the first groups actively encouraged to take part, supported by their employers and representative bodies.
What Do The Courses Teach?
The focus of the training is on practical workplace use rather than technical development of AI systems. For example, courses concentrate on helping workers use commonly available AI tools safely and effectively as part of everyday tasks.
This includes learning how to write and refine prompts for generative AI tools, use AI to draft text and create content, automate routine administrative processes, and interpret simple AI dashboards to identify trends. The training also covers responsible use, including understanding the risks, limitations and potential consequences of using AI at work.
All approved courses have been assessed against Skills England’s AI foundation skills for work benchmark, which sets out a nationally defined baseline for AI literacy in the workplace. Anyone who completes a course that meets the benchmark receives a government-backed virtual AI foundations badge, which can be used on CVs and professional profiles to demonstrate recognised skills.
Why The Government Is Prioritising AI Skills
The expansion of AI training reflects evidence that AI adoption in the UK remains uneven and that confidence among workers is low. For example, research published alongside the announcement found that only 21 per cent of UK workers currently feel confident using AI in their jobs. Business adoption data suggests that as of mid-2025 only around one in six UK businesses were using AI at all, with much lower uptake among small and micro businesses.
Government analysis suggests that improving adoption and confidence could deliver significant productivity gains. Ministers estimate that wider use of AI could unlock up to £140 billion in additional annual economic output by reducing time spent on routine tasks and enabling workers to focus on higher value activity.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall highlighted how the training is intended to ensure the benefits of AI are widely shared, saying, “We want AI to work for Britain, and that means ensuring Britons can work with AI,” adding that, “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.”
The Role Of Industry And Public Sector Partners
Delivery of the programme relies on a large partnership between government, industry and public sector organisations. For example, founding partners including Accenture, Amazon, Google, IBM, Microsoft, Salesforce, Sage and SAS have been joined by a wider group that now includes the NHS, British Chambers of Commerce, Federation of Small Businesses, Institute of Directors, Local Government Association, Cisco, Cognizant, Multiverse, Pax8 and techUK.
Industry partners are responsible for developing many of the courses hosted on the AI Skills Hub, while representative organisations are expected to promote the training to their members and workforces. The involvement of the NHS, the UK’s largest employer, is intended to support large scale uptake in the public sector and reinforce the relevance of AI skills beyond technology focused roles.
Phil Smith, Chair of Skills England, has said the benchmark was designed to provide clarity for both learners and employers about what AI skills are needed for work. He said the digital badges awarded on completion would provide clear recognition of learning and help set consistent standards for AI upskilling across the economy.
Funding And Wider Skills Measures
The training offer forms part of a broader package of measures aimed at preparing the UK workforce for AI-driven change. For example, the government has announced £27 million in funding for a new TechLocal scheme, part of the wider £187 million TechFirst programme, which will support local employers and education providers to develop AI-related jobs, professional practice courses, graduate traineeships and work experience opportunities.
Alongside this, the government has launched applications for the Spärck AI Scholarship, which will fund up to 100 master’s students in AI and STEM subjects at nine UK universities. The scholarships will cover tuition and living costs while providing access to industry placements and mentoring.
A new AI and the Future of Work Unit has also been established to monitor the economic and labour market impact of AI. Supported by an expert panel drawn from business, academia and trade unions, the unit is intended to provide evidence-based advice on when policy interventions may be needed to support workers and communities as roles and skills evolve.
The Implications For Employers And Businesses
For employers, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, the programme offers a low-cost route to building basic AI capability across teams. Business groups including the Federation of Small Businesses and the British Chambers of Commerce have welcomed the initiative, citing uncertainty among employers about what AI skills staff need and how to support responsible adoption.
Large employers involved in the programme have pointed to their own experience of rolling out AI tools internally, noting that productivity gains depend heavily on shared understanding and confidence rather than access to technology alone. The government argues that a nationally recognised benchmark will help employers set clearer expectations and reduce the risk of misuse or unrealistic assumptions about AI.
Criticisms And Questions
Despite broad support, the initiative has attracted criticism from some policy groups and professional bodies. For example, the Institute for Public Policy Research has warned that short, tool-focused courses risk oversimplifying what it means to be prepared for AI-enabled work. Critics argue that effective adaptation also requires judgement, critical thinking, leadership and organisational change, which cannot be delivered through brief online modules alone.
There are also questions about how impact will be measured over time. For example, while the government has committed to reaching 10 million workers by 2030, it has not yet set out detailed plans for tracking completion rates, long-term skills retention or productivity outcomes across different sectors. Concerns have also been raised about the mix of free and subsidised courses on the AI Skills Hub and whether this could cause confusion about access.
The government has said the AI Skills Boost programme will continue to evolve, with new courses, partners and benchmarks added as workplace use of AI develops and expectations around skills mature.
What Does This Mean For Your Business?
The expansion of free AI training marks a clear attempt by government to address one of the most persistent barriers to AI adoption in the UK, which is a lack of confidence and shared understanding rather than access to technology itself. By setting a national benchmark and backing it with widely accessible courses, the programme establishes a common baseline for what it means to use AI responsibly at work, something many employers and workers have so far lacked.
For UK businesses, particularly small and medium-sized firms, the initiative could lower the practical and financial threshold for experimenting with AI tools in everyday operations. A clearer definition of core skills may help employers move beyond uncertainty and begin integrating AI in measured, realistic ways, while also supporting better internal governance and expectations around use. Larger organisations and public sector bodies may benefit from a more consistent skills foundation across teams, reducing fragmentation and uneven uptake.
For workers, the availability of short, recognised courses offers a route to building confidence without committing to formal retraining or specialist qualifications. The emphasis on practical use, risk awareness and responsible adoption reflects an acknowledgement that AI will increasingly sit alongside existing roles rather than replace them outright in the near term.
At a national level, the programme aligns skills policy more closely with the government’s wider ambitions on productivity, economic growth and technological adoption. Whether it delivers lasting impact will depend on uptake, the quality of training, and how effectively it connects to broader workforce development and organisational change. The creation of the AI and the Future of Work Unit suggests an awareness that skills alone will not resolve all challenges, but it also places responsibility on government, employers and industry partners to ensure the transition is managed in a way that supports workers and delivers tangible economic benefit.
