Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government how they plan to align Skills Bootcamps funding and delivery with their ambition to position the UK as a global leader in AI and digital innovation; and how they plan to ensure that the workforce is equipped with critical skills to drive economic growth.

Skills Bootcamps are an important offer in the skills landscape. Latest published data shows that in the 2022/23 financial year, the majority of Skills Bootcamps were in the digital sector, with 61% of starts in digital.

This financial year, Skills Bootcamps are available in digital marketing, cyber security, software engineering, data analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. Mayoral Combined Authorities and local areas can use their grant funding for Skills Bootcamps in the digital sector where they have identified a local need.

The department recognises the long term importance of supporting learners and employers to develop digital skills. In addition to Skills Bootcamps, learners and employers can benefit from more than 30 high quality digital apprenticeship standards, including the level 3 cyber security technician standard and the level 5 data engineer standard. 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 role of Skills England will include developing a coherent picture of our national and regional skills needs, and shaping the technical education needed to meet that demand.