Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what support they plan to provide for young women entering the workforce in relation to the rise of artificial intelligence, lack of job security, and skills confidence.

With over one million young people not in education, employment and training, this Government will not leave an entire generation of young people behind. The Government is investing an additional £2.5 billion over the next three years into the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy.

This investment will support almost one million young people and create up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn, including through expanded network of Youth Hubs, earlier intensive support in Jobs Centres through a new Youth Guarantee Gateway, additional work experience and training opportunities, a £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant and £2,000 apprenticeship hiring payment for employers, and a fully funded six month job for long-term unemployed 18–24-year-olds.

We also recognise the crisis of participation that Alan Milburn has so clearly laid out in his interim report. We will use this interim report to continue to build our reforms and look forward to final recommendations in the Autumn.

AI has potentially transformative benefits for the economy and wider society, and the Government is doing all it can to ensure that the United Kingdom is at the forefront of this technological transition. That’s why the government is taking action now to shape this transition in a way that benefits workers, including young women, and the economy. This includes:

• Establishing the AI Economics Institute to provide world-leading research on AI’s economic impacts so government can respond to labour market shocks,
• Increasing access to AI upskilling through: TechFirst’s AI training focused on supporting 400,000 young people access AI training, and AI Skills Boost through which every UK adult can access free AI upskilling.
• Improving routes into AI jobs through AI apprenticeships schemes creating opportunities for the next generation.