Asked by: Zubir Ahmed (Labour - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to ensure that the AI Adoption Plan for professional and business services reaches small and medium-sized businesses in deprived constituencies such as Glasgow South West.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
The Government is committed to ensuring the UK is the fastest AI adopting country in the G7, and to making sure the benefits are felt in every part of the country.
The Government has committed more than £200 million to help companies in Britain adopt AI, including through an expansion of Innovate UK’s BridgeAI programme. In June, the Government published the AI Champions’ AI Adoption plans, including the Professional and Business Services AI Adoption Plan, which sets out recommendations to accelerate AI adoption across the sector, including encouraging adoption amongst SMEs. The Government is continuing to work with the AI Champions to help turn these plans into action.
Asked by: Zubir Ahmed (Labour - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to ensure AI skills programmes such as TechLocal and the AI apprenticeship reach young people not in education, employment or training in Glasgow South West constituency.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
The Government is committed to ensuring that people across the UK can benefit from the opportunities created by artificial intelligence, including those who are not currently in education, employment or training.
Through the £187 million TechFirst programme, we are creating new pathways into technical and AI-related careers. This includes TechLocal, which is helping employers across UK communities fill or create technical jobs and supporting the development of AI-focused professional courses, graduate traineeships and work experience opportunities.
The Government is also delivering the national AI Skills Boost campaign to upskill 10 million workers, which provides free access to foundational AI training and is designed to be accessible to people across the UK, including those who may otherwise face barriers to acquiring AI skills.
These programmes are available across the UK, including in Scotland, and we will continue to work with employers, training providers and local partners to support participation from under-represented groups and help ensure that opportunities created by AI are accessible to people in constituencies such as Glasgow South West.