techUK joins Government’s Early Careers Jobs Alliance
Read techUK’s analysis of the full AI Adoption Package announced in June 2026 here.
At the Chancellor’s AI Adoption Summit on 8 June 2026 during London Tech Week, the UK Government announced the Early Careers Jobs Alliance—a new initiative bringing together employers, trade unions and young people to tackle one of the most important questions raised by AI adoption: what happens to the entry-level job in an AI-enabled economy?
Co-chaired by Prospect General Secretary Mike Clancy and Digital and Technologies AI Champion Katie Gallagher OBE, the Alliance will explore how organisations can continue to create high-quality opportunities for young people as AI reshapes the world of work.
techUK is proud to be joining this Alliance.
AI is transforming how work is designed at every level, and we must act now to ensure entry-level roles evolve. Our members collectively employ more than 1.1 million people, and they are committed to leading this change by ensuring current and future pathways for young people remain accessible, high-quality, and aligned with the realities of AI-enabled work.
What is the Early Careers Jobs Alliance?
To date, much of the Government's work on AI and employment, including through Skills England and the AI Skills Boost Partnership, of which techUK is also a member, has focused on supply-side interventions such as skills, training and workforce planning.
The Early Careers Jobs Alliance takes a different approach. Rather than focusing solely on preparing people for work, it will examine how work itself is changing. The Alliance will explore how organisations design roles, structure teams and deploy AI in day-to-day operations, with the goal of ensuring that AI adoption supports, rather than reduces, opportunities for those starting their careers.
The first sector the Alliance will look at is the Digital and Technologies sector as it is the most AI-exposed of the eight high-growth potential sectors of the economy defined in the Government’s Industrial Strategy last year.
Integrated into the Government's Industrial Strategy Jobs Plans governance, the Alliance will draw on evidence from the new AI Economics Institute alongside insights shared by participating employers. It will deliver through four activity areas:
- Mapping how work is changing – undertaking task-level analysis of how AI is reshaping entry-level roles in D&T, with participatory research involving young people.
- Developing organisational blueprints – creating practical models for team structures, task allocation and human–AI interaction in AI-enabled workplaces.
- Reimagining entry-level roles – defining what high-quality, sustainable junior roles and progression pathways look like.
- Running employer–union pilots – testing and scaling new approaches to job design through real-world implementation.
The Alliance will publish an initial report this autumn, with pilot programmes expected to launch later this year and a final report due next summer.
Why this matters
Entry-level roles are far more than collections of tasks. They are how people gain experience, develop professional judgement, build networks and progress into more senior positions. They are also how organisations develop the talent pipelines they will depend on for years to come.
If pathways into work become narrower, the consequences could extend well beyond individual careers. Social mobility, workforce diversity, innovation and long-term business performance would all be affected.
In our evidence to the Work and Pensions Committee and our response to the Government’s Young People and Work call for evidence earlier this year, we set out that supply-side support only works if it connects to sustained jobs — and that the skills mismatch, not training volume alone, is the locked door keeping young people out. The Alliance is the first initiative to take the other half of that problem seriously.
At the same time, it is important to approach the debate with care. Claims that AI is already displacing large numbers of young workers remain contested, and the evidence on causation is still emerging. Rather than assuming a particular outcome, the responsible approach is to monitor the data closely, understand how roles are changing in practice, and act now to ensure entry-level opportunities continue to exist and thrive.
Why techUK is joining
techUK is proud to have contributed to the Digital and Tech Sector AI Adoption Plan, launched this week, which helped establish the Alliance.
As a participant, we hope to bring together the rich insights and feedback of broad digital and technology ecosystem that underpins AI adoption: employers redesigning roles, SMEs navigating change, technology providers, and organisations developing new approaches to workforce development.
We believe we can make three important contributions.
First, evidence. Through our work on youth employment and AI adoption, we have already begun examining many of the questions the Alliance will explore, including how AI is changing tasks, workflows and early-career opportunities. We look forward to sharing these insights.
Second, practical experience. Across our membership, organisations are already piloting innovative approaches, from virtual work experience programmes to AI-supported job matching and recruitment tools, that demonstrate how technology can expand access to opportunity rather than restrict it.
Third, an industry perspective on what good looks like. Successfully redesigning entry-level roles should help organisations adopt AI more effectively while creating meaningful opportunities for the next generation of talent.
The transition to an AI-enabled economy will require collaboration between government, employers, workers and young people themselves. The Early Careers Jobs Alliance provides an important forum for that conversation, and techUK looks forward to helping shape its work in the months ahead.
Next Steps
We invite members from the Digital and Tech Sector to help us shape the initial stage of this initiative.
Please do so by emailing [email protected] and [email protected] to share:
- How you are approaching early career opportunities in roles affected by AI
- What you think examples are of what is working well in practice
- Any further related insights, case studies, or other things you would like captured in our work with the Alliance.
Kir Nuthi
Kir Nuthi
Kir Nuthi is the Head of AI and Data at techUK.
She holds over seven years of Government Affairs and Tech Policy experience in the US and UK. Kir previously headed up the regulatory portfolio at a UK advocacy group for tech startups and held various public affairs in US tech policy. All involved policy research and campaigns on competition, artificial intelligence, access to data, and pro-innovation regulation.
Kir has an MSc in International Public Policy from University College London and a BA in both Political Science (International Relations) and Economics from the University of California San Diego.
Outside of techUK, you are likely to find her attempting studies at art galleries, attempting an elusive headstand at yoga, mending and binding books, or chasing her dog Maya around South London's many parks.
- Email:
- [email protected]
Nimmi Patel
Nimmi Patel
Nimmi Patel is the Associate Director of Policy at techUK. She works on all things skills, education, and future of work policy, focusing on upskilling and retraining. Nimmi is also an Advisory Board member of the Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (digit). The Centre’s research aims to increase understanding of how digital technologies are changing work and the implications for employers, workers, job seekers, and governments.
Prior to joining the techUK team, she worked for the UK Labour Party and New Zealand Labour Party, and holds an MA in Strategic Communications at King’s College London and BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from the University of Manchester. She also took part in the 2024-25 University of Bath Institute for Policy Research Policy Fellowship Programme and is the Education and Skills Policy Co-lead for Labour in Communications.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Phone:
- 07805744520
- LinkedIn:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/nimmi-patel1/
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Contact the team
Kir Nuthi
Kir Nuthi
Kir Nuthi is the Head of AI and Data at techUK.
She holds over seven years of Government Affairs and Tech Policy experience in the US and UK. Kir previously headed up the regulatory portfolio at a UK advocacy group for tech startups and held various public affairs in US tech policy. All involved policy research and campaigns on competition, artificial intelligence, access to data, and pro-innovation regulation.
Kir has an MSc in International Public Policy from University College London and a BA in both Political Science (International Relations) and Economics from the University of California San Diego.
Outside of techUK, you are likely to find her attempting studies at art galleries, attempting an elusive headstand at yoga, mending and binding books, or chasing her dog Maya around South London's many parks.
- Email:
- [email protected]
Usman Ikhlaq
Usman Ikhlaq
Usman joined techUK in January 2024 as Programme Manager for Artificial Intelligence.
He leads techUK’s AI Adoption programme, supporting members of all sizes and sectors in adopting AI at scale. His work involves identifying barriers to adoption, exploring solutions, and helping to unlock AI’s transformative potential, particularly its benefits for people, the economy, society, and the planet. He is also committed to advancing the UK’s AI sector and ensuring the UK remains a global leader in AI by working closely with techUK members, the UK Government, regulators, and devolved and local authorities.
Since joining techUK, Usman has delivered a regular drumbeat of activity to engage members and advance techUK's AI programme. This has included two campaign weeks, the creation of the AI Adoption Hub (now the AI Hub), the AI Leader's Event Series, the Putting AI into Action webinar series and the Industrial AI sprint campaign.
Before joining techUK, Usman worked as a policy, regulatory and government/public affairs professional in the advertising sector. He has also worked in sales, marketing, and FinTech.
Usman holds an MSc from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), a GDL and LLB from BPP Law School, and a BA from Queen Mary University of London.
When he isn’t working, Usman enjoys spending time with his family and friends. He also has a keen interest in running, reading and travelling.
Sue Daley OBE
Sue Daley OBE
Sue leads techUK's Technology and Innovation work. This includes work programmes on AI, Cloud, Data, Quantum, Semiconductors, Digital ID and Digital ethics as well as emerging and transformative technologies and innovation policy. In 2025, Sue was honoured with an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to the Technology Industry in the New Year Honours List. She has also been recognised as one of the most influential people in UK tech by Computer Weekly's UKtech50 Longlist and was inducted into the Computer Weekly Most Influential Women in UK Tech Hall of Fame.
A key influencer in driving forward the tech agenda in the UK, in December 2025 Sue was appointed to the UK Government’s Women in Tech Taskforce by the Technology Secretary of State. She also sits on the UK Government’s Smart Data Council, Satellite Applications Catapult Advisory Group, Bank of England’s AI Consortium and BSI’s Digital Strategic Advisory Group. Previously, Sue was a member of the Independent Future of Compute Review and co-chaired the National Data Strategy Forum. As well as being recognised in the UK's Big Data 100 and the Global Top 100 Data Visionaries in 2020, Sue has been shortlisted for the Milton Keynes Women Leaders Awards and has been a judge for the Loebner Prize in AI, the UK Tech 50 and annual UK Cloud Awards. She is a regular industry speaker on issues including AI ethics, data protection and cyber security.
Prior to joining techUK in January 2015, Sue was responsible for Symantec's Government Relations in the UK and Ireland. Before that, Sue was senior policy advisor at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). Sue has an BA degree on History and American Studies from Leeds University and a Master’s Degree in International Relations and Diplomacy from the University of Birmingham. Sue is a keen sportswoman and in 2016 achieved a lifelong ambition to swim the English Channel.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Phone:
- 020 7331 2055
- Twitter:
- @ChannelSwimSue
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