Education Today Education Today Magazine
The Government has launched the Early Careers Jobs Alliance and a series of AI bootcamps to help young people, with a focus on disadvantaged schools, get into further education and the job market.
With £20 million in funding, the new initiatives will map out how entry-level work is changing and support businesses in redesigning job roles while maintaining entry-level pathways. It follows ONS data showing 1 million 16-to-24-year-olds in the UK are not in education, employment or training (NEET).
The Early Careers Jobs Alliance brings together government, employers, trade unions and young people, with the aim of guiding people into work and learn on the job opportunities. It is co-chaired by Prospect’s General Secretary Mike Clancy and the government’s AI Champion for the Digital and Technologies sector.
Over 400,000 students will be provided with AI and tech skills training, through TechFirst, as part of the initiative, as the Government looks to improve opportunities and map education to the evolving early-careers job market.
The AI bootcamp scheme, unveiled by tech minister Liz Kendall at London Tech Week, will be piloted across 5 local areas in Lancashire and Greater Manchester, providing free workplace and entry-level AI training, before guaranteeing those who complete the bootcamp with a fully paid AI apprenticeship.
The Government plans to roll out the scheme nationwide across England in the 2027 to 2028 academic year, if the pilot is successful.
Elizabeth Anderson, CEO of the Digital Poverty Alliance, commented: “New AI bootcamps and the Early Careers Jobs Alliance to support disadvantaged schools will be a great opportunity to help the 400,000 selected for training, however, with 1 in 5 children across the UK living in some form of digital poverty, children and teachers urgently need access to suitable technology. At school, so many assignments and homework pieces are now set online, with millions of children left behind because they are without a device with a keyboard suitable for typing essays or completing tasks.”
“Often, it’s people from low-income households who may lack reliable internet connectivity, a suitable device such as a laptop, or foundational digital skills, which puts them behind, so unless digital access is significantly improved, many disadvantaged children will struggle to get any benefit from the new initiatives. Government must work closely with the education sector, mapping out areas and schools that require support and pair this new support with the devices, connectivity and skills training to truly support young people across the UK.”
It comes alongside an £820 million investment in the Youth Guarantee, creating 350,000 new training and workplaces, 55,000 guaranteed jobs for the long-term unemployed and over 360 youth hubs across the UK.
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Liz Kendall said: “My priority is building an AI future that is pro-business and pro-worker, where AI enhances work, and people are supported through the jobs transition – not left to cope on their own. It’s clear the world of work is changing rapidly with the adoption of new technologies, and young people want a future where they can get on, get skilled, and get good jobs.”
“I’m determined to give young people the jobs and skills they need to thrive in an era of technological change, and am taking action now to create a future that truly works for all.”
