Public sector data scientists will be trained to use AI tools as part of a government scheme to plug the skills gap holding back its Plan for Change ambitions.
The 12-week AI accelerator will teach machine learning engineering skills to help civil servants use automation to tackle public sector problems.
The programme will be open to digital workers from the justice, health and transport authorities, who will then return to their respective departments to support the Whitehall initiative of improving state services with AI.
“By building AI skills across government, we’ll be able to deliver just that – all while finding efficiencies and transforming services to deliver our Plan for Change,” said AI and Digital Government Minister Feryal Clark.
“We have started to build generative AI chatbots to change how people interact with the state, AI helpers to put an end to the mindless hours we spend on hold waiting for someone to pick up the phone, and tools to help get the views of citizens on policy proposals much more quickly – but AI can help with so much more.”
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the digitisation and automation of government services would save up to £45bn in productivity benefits.
“There is so much potential to use AI to improve how we work in my agency and in healthcare more widely,” said a data scientist from the UK Health Security Agency.
“The programme will help me understand what we need to think about when building AI in the public sector, including how to manage data safely and be transparent in our work.”
The programme comes after a damning report from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that warned a severe lack of skills as well as out of date legacy systems and low-quality training is hampering the government incorporation of AI.
The report pointed to a survey of government bodies that found that 70% identified difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff with AI skills and last year, around half of roles advertised in civil service digital and data campaigns were unfilled.
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