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 help mitigate the potential impact of AI-related professional displacement in employment for graduates and school leavers.

The Government is committed to ensuring that young people are supported to succeed in a labour market being reshaped by artificial intelligence, including graduates and school leavers entering employment for the first time.

We have established a new Early Jobs Alliance, bringing together government, employers, trade unions and young people to understand how AI is changing entry-level roles and to protect pathways into work. Backed by £20 million, it will map changes in entry-level work, identify best practice, and provide practical guidance to employers on redesigning roles while maintaining progression routes for early careers entrants. It will initially focus on the digital and technologies sector, with plans to expand across all eight Industrial Strategy sectors.

Alongside this, the Government is investing in skills and routes into employment. Through TechFirst, our nationwide tech skills programme, at least 400,000 students from disadvantaged backgrounds will be supported to develop AI and digital skills through school sessions, competitions and industry engagement.

These programmes will complement our ongoing work to understand how AI is affecting the labour market. The new AI Economics Institute will provide rigorous analysis of AI’s impacts on productivity, labour markets and growth. As the first government-backed institute of its kind, it will help close critical evidence gaps and ensure that policy is informed by real-world data and employer practice.