Unemployed young people to join AI boot camps to get job-ready

The UK government is set to launch pilot AI boot camps for unemployed young people in a bid to tackle the growing number of "Neets" – those not in employment, education or training. The three-week training program, located in north-west England, aims to equip up to 70 participants aged 16 to 21 with essential AI skills, including building AI tools, understanding business applications and responsible use.

The government's digital, culture, media and sport secretary, Lisa Nandy, emphasized that the scheme would support young people during a crucial phase of their lives. The pilot is part of a broader plan for an England-wide AI skills initiative, which is scheduled to launch next summer. Participants will receive training from tech giants like Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic, known for developing ChatGPT and Claude, respectively.

Experts like Bouke Klein Teeselink, an academic at King’s College London, view the boot camp positively, stating that making young workers more productive through AI training is a good idea. However, Teeselink remains skeptical about the effectiveness of a short-term program, arguing that continuous learning and skill updates are crucial for true AI readiness.

The concerns surrounding AI's impact on employment are particularly focused on school leavers and graduates, as AI tools are seen as capable of handling routine tasks typically assigned to newcomers. Recent studies, including a report from Stanford University, have highlighted a decline in youth employment in AI-exposed fields such as software engineering and customer service.

The UK's AI minister, Kanishka Narayan, believes the program will provide young people with the necessary skills to succeed in an AI-driven workplace. According to the latest data released in May, the number of young people aged 16 to 24 who are neither working nor learning has surpassed 1 million for the first time since 2013, reaching 1.01 million in the first quarter of 2023.

An interim report by former Labour minister Alan Milburn has warned that this figure could rise to one in six by 2031, warning of a potential "lost generation" of young people ill-prepared for the job market.

In light of these challenges, Andy Burnham, leader of the opposition Labour Party, has committed to reducing the number of Neets, although he has not set a specific deadline for achieving this goal.