Free AI training for every UK adult as NHS and industry back push to upskill 10 million by 2030

Free AI training for every UK worker: what government teams need to act on now

The UK's AI Skills Boost is expanding to offer free AI foundations training to every adult, with a goal to upskill 10 million workers by 2030. New partners include the NHS, techUK, BCC, CBI, FSB and more, alongside founding partners such as Google, Microsoft and BT.

Government is also creating a new AI and the Future of Work Unit to track AI's labour market impacts and advise on timely policy. A £27 million TechLocal scheme will help connect people to tech jobs and fund new AI degrees, graduate traineeships and work experience.

The offer at a glance

• Who can take it: Every adult in the UK.
• Format: Short online courses, some under 20 minutes.
• Skills covered: Drafting text, content creation, admin support and day-to-day AI use at work.
• Quality: Courses checked against Skills England's AI foundation skills for work benchmark.
• Recognition: Learners receive a virtual AI foundations badge.
• Progress so far: Over one million courses delivered since June, with a new target of 10 million by 2030, including at least 2 million SME employees.

Why this matters for the public sector

AI can reduce routine workload and support frontline and back-office teams. Yet confidence and adoption are still low: only 21% of UK workers feel confident using AI at work, and about 1 in 6 UK businesses reported using AI by mid-2025, with smaller firms lagging larger ones.

This programme sets a clear baseline for practical skills and gives managers a way to verify progress via digital badges. It offers a simple route to get whole teams moving in the same direction, fast.

New structures and funding

• AI and the Future of Work Unit: A cross-government function to monitor AI's economic and jobs impact, backed by an expert panel from business, academia, unions and civil society. It will advise on policy timing and support a fair transition for workers and communities.
• TechLocal (£27m): Part of the £187m TechFirst programme. Will help employers fill or create up to 1,000 tech jobs in local areas and fund new AI degrees, graduate traineeships and work experience through two national competitions.
• Spärck AI Scholarship: Up to 100 AI and STEM Master's students at 9 UK universities will receive tuition, living support, industry partnerships, placements and mentoring.

What public sector leaders can do this quarter

• Run a 60-minute team session to complete an AI foundations course and agree three tasks per role where AI can help this month.
• Nominate AI champions in each unit to support colleagues and track badge completion rates.
• Update acceptable use, data handling and accessibility guidance for AI-assisted work.
• Include SME suppliers in your upskilling plan, especially where delivery relies on them.
• Use quick wins: drafting briefings, summarising long documents, meeting notes, first-pass content, and simple spreadsheet analysis.
• Set a measurement loop: baseline task times now, compare after four weeks of training and pilots.
• Engage local providers early to prepare bids for the TechLocal competitions.

Standards and safeguards

The Skills England benchmark sets a common baseline for workplace AI skills. The new Unit will provide timely analysis on economic and labour market effects, so departments can adjust policy and workforce plans with evidence, protect communities from past mistakes, and support people into better jobs.

Who's involved

• 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

Practical use cases for government teams

• Policy: First drafts of impact assessments, stakeholder maps, and consultation summaries.
• Operations: Triage common queries, produce shift notes, summarise incidents and action logs.
• HR and L&D: Convert policy text into checklists, write course outlines, and generate quiz items.
• Finance and procurement: Draft market engagement notices, summarise vendor proposals, and extract key terms from contracts for review.
• Comms: Draft press lines, translate content across channels, and produce alt text and captions.

How to get started

• Create a single entry point for staff to access the AI Skills Hub and record badge completions.
• Set a minimum standard: all staff complete the foundations course; priority teams complete two additional role-relevant modules.
• Run weekly office hours for Q&A and to review example prompts and outputs.
• Publish a one-page checklist covering data sensitivity, security, citations and accessibility.

Evidence and context

Analysts estimate that wider adoption of AI could add substantial output to the UK economy over time. For broader context on global AI policy and productivity research, see the OECD AI Policy Observatory.

OECD AI Policy Observatory

Extra learning

Beyond the government offer, you can explore role-based AI courses to reinforce skills and build confidence in daily workflows.

Role-based AI courses (Complete AI Training)

Key dates

• 28 January 2026: Announcement and speech at Bloomberg HQ, London.
• By 2030: Target to upskill 10 million workers with AI skills.

Media enquiries

DSIT media enquiries: press@dsit.gov.uk, 020 7215 3000 (Mon-Fri, 8:30am-6pm).