Two new government schemes will equip Barnsley residents with artificial intelligence skills to support their careers, the Cabinet Office has announced.
AI Career Launchpad, a partnership with Barnsley College worth more than £400,000, will offer residents of all ages flexible training linked to a Level 4 apprenticeship. Learners will receive six months of training plus paid work placements with employers to gain experience while they study.
A second scheme, Getting Job Ready with AI, will launch in September and support jobseekers through a pilot programme. The scheme will help people use AI to search for suitable roles, tailor CVs and cover letters, prepare for interviews, and understand how employers use digital tools in their work. People will be referred to the course through Jobcentre Plus.
Tech Town initiative
The schemes follow Barnsley's designation as the UK's first "Tech Town" earlier this year. Major technology firms including Microsoft, Cisco and Adobe have pledged to support local people seeking jobs of the future.
Kanishka Narayan, AI Minister, said: "AI is going to transform the world of work and our job is to make sure working people benefit from that change. Barnsley is showing what this can look like in practice."
David Akeroyd, Principal and CEO of Barnsley College, said the AI Career Launchpad opened up careers that had until now been "concentrated elsewhere in the country".
Local businesses that sign up to the scheme will gain early access to people training in AI, with government-funded placements helping them bring fresh skills into their teams. Once the programme is completed, its curriculum will be freely available for other colleges and training providers to use across the country.
Matt O'Neill, Barnsley Council's Executive Director for Place, said the authority hoped the schemes would "make a real difference" to residents' lives, adding that Tech Town aims to use technology in ways that are "inclusive, trusted and rooted in everyday life".
