Education and Skills Critical to Delivery on AI Opportunities Action Plan

The Government launched its AI Opportunities Action Plan last week, highlighting the need for action to ensure the UK can embrace the opportunities afforded by AI.?

AI evokes excitement in some and concern in others: the jobs of the future will undeniably be technology-intensive, but this could create new work opportunities and/or threaten traditional work patterns. The report acknowledges that developing the UK’s human capital is essential to taking advantage of these opportunities, creating a clear role for the education and skills system. Many of the recommendations in the report echo and complement recommendations previously made by Policy Connect.?

The recommendation that up-to-date information on the AI skills gap be collected is welcome. The last government AI?labour market survey was in 2020, and an assessment of where the workforce needs to be in the years ahead must begin with an accurate understanding of where it is now. Moving forward, the Government must assess not only the present skills gap but also changing workforce skill demands over the medium and long term. In Skills 2030: Building a World-Class Skills System, we argued that the skills system must proactively respond to changing workforce needs rather than reactively respond to skills shortages. This is especially important as AI, the Government report notes, will likely have a continuous but uncertain effect on the labour market.?

Key to addressing the skills gap is supporting higher education institutions, with the report recommending increasing the number of AI graduates and increased teaching of industry-relevant skills. We argued in Digitally Enhanced Blended Learning: Leveraging the Benefits of Technology in Higher Education that employability has become an integral part of the higher education system. In today’s world, preparing students for the workforce requires the development of digital and information literacy. Key to this is the continued professional development of teaching staff to equip them with the skills and competencies to navigate this constantly developing terrain. The overarching issue of strained university finances must also be considered, especially given its impact on the adoption of new technologies.?

The focus on university education is important but will not address skills shortages on its own. Fully exploiting the opportunities afforded by AI requires the whole workforce to be adaptable and committed to continuous learning. The report rightly highlights the need to expand the educational pathways into AI, such as through further education, apprenticeships, and employer-led and self-led upskilling. Relatedly, it recommends that lifelong learning policies incorporate AI literacy. The Government must ensure there are sufficient opportunities for workers to reskill into AI-enabled jobs.??

A central tenet of this is ensuring that employees can access these opportunities. Skills 2030 highlights a range of institutional, situational, and dispositional barriers that prevent continued learning into adulthood. These include lack of time, insufficient flexibility, and feelings of being ‘too old to learn’. If these barriers are not addressed, providing more opportunities for reskilling will be inadequate. Policies such as introducing a ‘right to retrain’ could help make lifelong learning the norm, something likely to be essential in keeping pace with developments in AI.?

Overall, the AI Opportunities Action Plan is a promising start, given its emphasis on developing the UK’s human capital, accurately assessing skills gaps in the workforce, and providing more opportunities to upskill and retrain. Future developments must build upon this to ensure that workforce requirements can be assessed over the long term and that individuals are not prevented from taking advantage of available opportunities.??

Nathan Stone