techUK members including Google, Microsoft, IBM, SAS, Accenture, Sage, BT, Amazon, Intuit, and Salesforce have signed up to the partnership. They have committed to making high-quality training materials freely available for businesses of all sizes to support the upskilling and training of their staff.
Ahead of the Spending Review in two days, the government is also committing to a £187 million programme to bring digital skills and AI learning into classrooms and communities and train up people of all ages and backgrounds for the tech careers of the future. This skills plan comes as part of the AI Opportunities Action Plan, published in January, which outlined nine recommendations to train, attract and retain the next generation of AI scientists and founders.
Commenting on the London Tech Week AI skills announcement, Julian David OBE, CEO of techUK said:
“techUK stands ready to support the government in achieving its ambition to upskill 7.5 million people with AI skills by 2030. Many of our members have already made strong commitments of their own on developing skills.
“What is needed now is clearer delivery on the recommendations from the AI Opportunities Action plan, in particular, further industry collaboration to make it easier for companies of all sizes to retrain and upskill their staff. We look forward to working in partnership to build an AI-ready workforce that can drive innovation and make people’s lives better across the UK.”
Lorna Willis, CEO of TechSkills - the accreditation body for Tech Industry Gold, the only employer-led accreditation for tech education and training said:
“TechFirst represents a transformative opportunity to equip the next generation with the skills they need to thrive in an AI-powered economy, but its success will depend on strong employer collaboration and a clear focus on delivering real career outcomes for learners of all backgrounds.”
The TechFirst package will support the development of AI skills through four strands - Youth, Graduate, Expert, and Local:
TechYouth (£24m) - will give 1 million students over three years across every secondary school in the UK the chance to learn about technology and gain access to new skills training and career opportunities.
TechGrad (£96.8m) - will support 1,000 exceptional domestic students a year with undergraduate scholarships in areas like AI, cyber security, and computer science. This will also go towards 100 Research MSc places in key tech sectors, and 100 elite AI scholarships. Applicants will be able to apply to the scheme online and those successful will have their bursaries paid from a central fund.
TechExpert (£48.4m) - will give up to £10,000 in additional funding to 500 domestic PhD students conducting research in tech with the aim of accelerating cutting-edge innovation, strengthen the UK’s research pipeline in strategic technology sectors, and ensure that emerging talent is supported to contribute to national tech leadership.
TechLocal (£18m) - will offer seed funding to help regional innovators and small businesses develop new tech products and adopt AI. A panel made up of local tech businesses will be established in each region to decide which applications have merit, with the necessary checks then done centrally by Innovate UK.
We welcome the TechFirst package as we have consistently called for better use of existing resources and training programs to develop AI skills in the workforce. Businesses already offer a wide variety of online and in-person training, from basic digital skills right through to courses on the latest technological developments. These efforts need to be unified to boost learners’ confidence in investing their time. techUK has long urged the government to build on the successful Skills Toolkit launched in 2020, creating an updated version that helps people across all sectors access digital job opportunities and relevant training. Many techUK members’ courses have been featured, but now the focus must shift from basic digital skills to advanced, stackable qualifications that lead to workplace-ready capabilities.
TechFirst builds on the success of the CyberFirst programme, which has already helped hundreds of thousands of young people gain cyber security skills. techUK has worked closely with government to ensure the CyberFirst scheme delivered on its aim to encourage more young people to consider a career in cybersecurity and build their relevant skills.
Ahead of today’s announcement, techUK hosted a roundtable with Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and our members on the key principles that underpin the new TechFirst initiative, and provided input to shape a programme that can tackle skills gaps and help people and businesses capitalise on the transformative benefits of AI. It is essential that SMEs are represented and actively integrated into the development of this skills package.
techUK is actively engaging with the government on skills and labour market challenges. Please get in touch to find out more.
Nimmi Patel
Head of Skills, Talent and Diversity, techUK
Nimmi Patel
Head of Skills, Talent and Diversity, techUK
Nimmi Patel is the Head of Skills, Talent and Diversity 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 Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (digit). The Centre 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.
Julian David is the CEO of techUK, the leading technology trade association that aims to realise the positive outcomes that digital technology can achieve for People, Society, the Economy and the Planet.
He leads techUK’s nearly 100 strong team representing over a thousand British based tech companies, comprising global and national champions and more than 600 SMEs and ScaleUP companies. techUK is the voice of the tech industry in the UK with 21 member led programmes covering all of tech from ‘Chips to Clicks’ and addressing 11 market sectors from Defence and Central Government, through to Health, Consumer Electronics and Financial Services.
In 2021 techUK launched TechSkills, the employer-led accreditation organisation that aims to improve the flow of talent into the digital workforce and open up access for all to high value tech jobs.
Julian represents techUK on a number of external bodies including the Digital Economy Council, the National Cyber Security Advisory Council and the Department of Business and Trade’s Strategic Trade Advisory Group. He is member of the NTA Advisory Board of DIGITALEUROPE and is a member of the Board of the Health Innovation Network the South London Academic Health Science Network.
Julian has over thirty years of experience in the technology industry. Prior to joining techUK, he had a series of leadership roles at IBM including Vice President for Small and Medium Business and Public Sector. After leaving IBM he worked as a consultant helping tech SMEs establish successful operations in the U.K. His personal interests include Football (West Ham, Balham FC and Real Madrid) and Art.
Margherita is the Head of Press and Media at techUK, working across all communications and marketing activities and acting as the point of contact for media enquiries.
Margherita works closely with the staff at techUK to communicate the issues that matter most to our members with the media.
Prior to joining techUK, Margherita worked in public relations across technology, public affairs, and charity, designing evidence-based strategic campaigns and building meaningful ties with key stakeholders.
techUK's Skills, Talent and Diversity Programme activities
techUK work with our members to signpost the opportunity of digital jobs and ensure these opportunities are open to people of diverse backgrounds. We strive to help our members attract, recruit, and retain a diverse workforce, whilst showcasing their work on workplace innovation. Visit the programme page here.
Jobs and Skills
To make sure that the UK is a world-leading digital economy that works for everyone, it is crucial that people have the digital skills needed for life and work. Rapid digitalisation is creating surging demand for digital skills across the economy and the current domestic skills pipeline cannot keep up. Digitalisation is also leading to rapid changes in the labour market that means some traditional roles are being displaced. There is an urgent need to better match the demand and supply.
The future of work is changing. Technology is powering a growth in flexible work across the economy, whilst emerging technologies such as robotics and AI are set to become common place. techUK believes the UK must consider the implications of digital transformation in the world of work now, equipping people and businesses across the country with the skills and conditions needed to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the 4IR.
Diversity and inclusion sits at the heart of digital growth. The tech sector understands that innovation thrives from diversity of thought and is continually looking to attract, recruit and retain a diverse workforce. techUK is proud to support a number of initiatives that promote this, from doing outreach work to ensure that people regardless of their background are inspired into tech, to initiatives that help build more inclusive workplaces for those with different accessibility needs.
Returners programmes offer a supported bridge back to work for people who have taken a career break. Providing ways for people to ease back into work after a career break is a vital way to make sure we do not lose out on their talent and experience. The techUK returners hub was created as a one-stop-shop for people looking to return to a career in digital.
Our members develop strong networks, build meaningful partnerships and grow their businesses as we all work together to create a thriving environment where industry, government and stakeholders come together to realise the positive outcomes tech can deliver.
Nimmi Patel is the Head of Skills, Talent and Diversity 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 Digital Futures at Work Research Centre (digit). The Centre 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.
