Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address any shortage in AI-specific skills.

This government is committed to ensuring both learners and employers have access to the digital and artificial intelligence (AI) skills critical to our Opportunity and Growth Missions. To achieve this, we will build a responsive skills system, coordinated through Skills England, to deliver on the national, regional and local skills needs of the next decade.

The department has already provided a range of post 16 academic and technical qualifications relevant to AI skills. Developed in partnership with employers, there are currently 33 apprenticeship standards spanning levels 3 to 7 in digital occupations, including at degree level and in areas like data analytics and AI.

Learners can study three digital T Levels which include AI content, and there are 77 Higher Technical Qualifications approved and quality marked as providing the skills demanded in the workplace by employers, including AI skills. The majority of Skills Bootcamps are also in the digital sector, with 61% of starts in 2022/23 being in digital.

Within the school system, the department funds the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE) to improve the teaching of computing and increase participation in computer science at GCSE and A level, across England. To support the teaching of AI, the NCCE delivers a range of courses on machine learning and AI, ethics, and teaching about AI in primary and secondary computing, which are free for teachers in state-funded education in England. The NCCE also facilitates industry-led events for pupils, to raise awareness of digital opportunities and careers in sectors such as Cyber and AI.

The government’s ambition is for a curriculum that delivers excellent foundations in reading, writing and mathematics, and ensures every young person gets the opportunity to develop creative, digital and speaking and listening skills particularly prized by employers. To achieve this, the government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, covering ages 5 to 18, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE, an expert in education policy.

The review group ran a call for evidence and held events over the autumn term to gather the views of education professionals and other experts, parents, children and young people, as well as other stakeholders, including employers. The feedback received will help the review group to consider its next steps and recommendations.

Across government, the new Industrial Strategy will channel support to eight growth-driving sectors in which the UK excels today and will propel it forwards tomorrow. Digital technologies have been identified as one of the eight growth-driving sectors and the department is currently consulting on the barriers to growth, including skills, in this sector. Furthermore, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, has commissioned an AI Opportunities Action Plan which will set out the essential role that equipping the UK’s workforce with the right skills and attracting top talent will play in supporting the growth of the AI sector.