UK government seeks to boost skills and diversity in AI jobs

The UK government has launched a programme to help young people from underrepresented groups including women, black people and people with disabilities pursue careers in Artificial Intelligence (AI).

It said it will invest up to £23 million to create up to two thousand scholarships for masters AI conversion courses. These enable graduates to do further study courses in the field even if their undergraduate course is not directly related.

The programme is part of the government’s National AI Strategy. An open competition will be held later this year for universities in England to bid for the scholarships. The next round of the AI scholarship scheme will start in April 2023 and will be available until 2025. 

The government said the courses are inclusive by design providing students with flexible access to study, such as evenings and remote options. Course content suitable for non-STEM graduates.

The government plans to establish a broker organisation by April 2022 to support industry investment into the programme and provide information to industry across AI skills initiatives.

“Today we’re investing millions to ensure people from all parts of society can access the opportunities and benefits AI is creating in this country,” said DCMS Minister for Tech and the Digital Economy Chris Philp.

“We are doubling the number of AI scholarships previously available to underrepresented groups to build a diverse and inclusive workforce fit for the future of tech.”

Government calls for industry support

The UK is ranked third in the world for private venture capital investment into AI companies (2019 investment into the UK reached almost £2.5 billion) and is home to a third of Europe’s total AI companies.

The government is encouraging companies to play their part in creating a future pipeline of AI talent by match-funding the AI scholarships for the conversion courses. It said industry support would get more people into the AI and data science job market quicker and strengthen their businesses. 

An independent organisation, to be announced later this year, will be responsible for encouraging industry participation and investment into the AI Scholarships scheme. 

Second generation of AI courses

The new scholarships follow on from the Industrial Funded AI Masters programme supported by the government since 2019 to increase AI skills across the UK with industry investment. 

The first stage of the AI conversion courses in 2019, delivered by the Office for Students, supported 28 universities in England to set up and provide degree conversion courses in AI and data science.

The £13.5 million AI Scholarship programme enabled a diverse group of students to study AI and data science, as 76 percent of scholarship students were women, whereas only 30 percent of masters students on traditional computing courses are women. Nearly half, 45 percent, of the scholarship students were black and 24 percent had disabilities.

 The first phase of the AI courses also attracted tech talent outside of London and the South East, with 70 percent of the total students and 84 percent of the scholarship students based outside of these areas in England.