Businesses throughout the UK will be supported to unleash the enormous potential of AI across their workforce as the UK Government publishes new guidance to make sure employees have the skills they need.
The guidance, published on 30 November, is intended to help employers boost their employees’ understanding of AI, so that they can use it safely in their day-to-day roles, by setting out the key knowledge, skills and behaviours they should have in order to reap the benefits of AI safely – including how to use artificial intelligence tools effectively, such as Large Language Models and the safe and secure management of sensitive data.
Focused on five key areas, the guidance covers everything from using AI to evaluate the performance of projects, to how to build the skills and techniques needed to solve issues as people work with AI when they crop up.
Employees will be helped by employers and training providers to develop a deeper understanding of how their organisation works with AI, how they can further incorporate its use, and in turn what tools they need to tackle a particular task.
From admin to accounting and a range of other aspects in a worker’s day-to-day role, the guidance will support employees to propose solutions and build a strong knowledge base to go from strength to strength as they work increasingly with AI.
Given the growing use of AI in businesses across the country, this will serve as a vital tool for employers to ensure their workers can harness the huge potential of the technology to fuel both their own development and that of their organisation.
By upskilling workers, businesses will also ramp up productivity and ensure their workforce can focus on the tasks which will make the biggest impact.
Having a highly skilled workforce will allow businesses to go from strength to strength, fuelling their success and helping to grow the economy.
Developed in partnership with the Innovate UK BridgeAI programme and The Alan Turing Institute, the guidance marks a first step, with the UK Government continuing to work closely with the business community and experts to develop the guidance further and draw concrete actions, which can be implemented by businesses across the country – ahead of publishing a final version.
It comes as the Chancellor welcomed Microsoft’s £2.5 billion investment in UK AI over the next three years – expanding its next-generation AI datacentre infrastructure, which is a vital investment to process, host and store the massive amounts of digital information needed to develop AI models.
Minister for AI Viscount Camrose, said: “Making sure workers up and down the country have the skills they need for their jobs with and in AI is a key part of our strategy in making the UK an AI powerhouse and ensuring the skills of our workforce keep pace with this rapidly developing technology.
“This guidance will be vital in helping us realise that ambition, continuing an important conversation with businesses across the UK to make sure the steps they can take are practical, functional, and successful.
“Having a workforce which is equipped to work alongside AI will drive growth for businesses and allow us to realise the enormous opportunities AI presents in every sector of our economy.”
Each of the five areas identified in the guidance is broken down further into corresponding knowledge and skillsets, such as knowledge of how AI can be used effectively; the ability to carry out a range of tasks; using appropriate behaviour when working with AI; and strong professional values to develop a sound judgement in situations where AI could be used.
Underpinning this new guidance is a breakdown of four distinct ‘personas’, which correspond to the level of AI expertise an individual may need. This will help users – individuals, employees, and employers – quickly identify their skills gaps, and training providers to develop relevant training schemes to address these.
AI Citizens are defined in the guidance as members of the public who could be customers or employees of an organisation making use of AI.
AI Workers are employees whose day-to-day role sits outside of data and AI, but whose jobs are likely to be impacted by the technologies.
Meanwhile, AI Professionals are also identified as employees with specific responsibilities around data and AI, while AI Leaders are people in senior positions who help to oversee and introduce emerging technologies, such as individuals in board-level roles.
The aim of these personas is to help businesses improve their L&D offer for existing workers, and to identify key AI skills when recruiting.
Professor Will Drury, Executive Director – Digital and Technologies at Innovate UK, said: “The adoption of AI is critical for our economy – it will help drive growth and competitiveness, unlocking the potential for greater productivity.
“I welcome this framework and consultation focused on developing employees’ skills in AI; the recognition that AI is part of industry’s future and our workforce’s future is just the start of integrating AI into business at a grass-roots level.”
Matt Forshaw, Senior Advisor for Skills at The Alan Turing Institute said: “Businesses are increasingly interested to learn how AI could enhance their productivity and competitiveness, but they also want to ensure they have the skills and competencies to adopt these technologies safely and ethically.
“The new framework clarifies routes to workforce upskilling and will support businesses across the country to harness the value of AI. This project is underpinned by strong partnership working and we look forward to seeing the impact of this project on the current and future AI workforce.”
To ensure the guidance is useful for organisations across the UK economy, the Government is now seeking views from across the UK’s expert community.
Stakeholders have the opportunity to comment on the guidance through the Alan Turing Institute until January.Building on this feedback, in the new year, InnovateUK BridgeAI and the Alan Turing Institute will publish updated guidance, an accompanying skills framework and sector-specific case studies.
These resources will help businesses understand their AI upskilling needs and training providers to develop training solutions which will enable businesses to unlock the value of AI.
The AI Skills for Business Competency Framework will help to identify the knowledge, skills, and personal qualities that workers across the country need in order to navigate the practical challenges which AI presents in the workplace.