Project equips Tech Town jobseekers with AI skills

Barnsley residents will be offered support in using artificial intelligence (AI) to train for future careers under two new government schemes.

AI Career Launchpad will offer flexible training and paid work placements with employers, while Getting Job Ready with AI will support jobseekers, the Cabinet Office said.

The training comes six months after Barnsley was dubbed the UK's first "Tech Town", with firms including Microsoft, Cisco and Adobe pledging to support local people seeking "jobs of the future".

AI Minister Kanishka Narayan said: "AI is going to transform the world of work and our job is to make sure working people benefit from that change."

He added: "That starts with helping people understand how AI can be useful day-to-day - whether that means finding a job, learning new skills or building a career in a growing industry.

"Barnsley is showing what this can look like in practice.

"As our first Tech Town, it is helping us find ways that can create opportunities for local people and support communities across the country."

The AI Career Launchpad, a partnership with Barnsley College worth more than £400,000, will offer residents of all ages a faster, more flexible route into AI jobs.

Learners will get six months of training linked to a Level 4 apprenticeship, plus paid placements to gain experience while they learn.

Barnsley College Principal and CEO David Akeroyd said the scheme opened up careers that had, until now, been "concentrated elsewhere in the country".

Local businesses that sign up will benefit by getting early access to people training in AI, with government-funded placements helping them bring fresh skills into their teams.

Once the programme has been completed, its curriculum will then be freely available for other colleges and training providers elsewhere to use across the country.

From September, jobseekers in Barnsley will also get hands-on support through the Getting Job Ready with AI pilot.

Support would include using AI to search for suitable roles, tailor CVs and cover letters, prepare for interviews and understand how employers are already using digital tools in day-to-day jobs.

People will be referred onto the course through Jobcentre Plus.

The pilot forms part of a wider drive by the Department for Work and Pensions to get more people into work and help them progress once there, including reforming jobcentres into a universal careers service.

Matt O'Neill, Barnsley Council's Executive Director for Place, said the authority hoped the schemes would "make a real difference" to residents' lives.

"Tech Town is about using technology in ways that are inclusive, trusted and rooted in everyday life," he said.

"We want to make sure residents, employers and communities across the borough are ready for the jobs and services of the future."

Alongside the two new schemes, an assessment launching in autumn will look at how local charities, community groups and social enterprises are already using AI, and where further support could make the biggest difference.

Lessons from Barnsley will inform how similar approaches could be used elsewhere as the government works to equip 10 million UK workers with AI skills by 2030.

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UK's first Tech Town to become AI 'trailblazer'