The People Space's must-read guide for HR and people leaders on leveraging the UK's AI Opportunities Action Plan to shape the future of work, attract talent and upskill teams
The UK government’s ambitious AI Opportunities Action Plan sets a clear agenda for harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) as a transformative tool for economic growth and societal advancement. Below The People Space breaks down the key themes of the plan, highlighting its implications for the workplace, HR professionals and businesses.
1. The UK’s competitive challenge in AI
The plan makes no secret of the high stakes: the UK must position itself as a global leader in AI to remain competitive. Currently the UK boasts strengths in research and development, a thriving startup ecosystem and leading AI companies like DeepMind and Wayve making it the third largest AI market in the world, says Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Peter Kyle. However, he warns that without proactive measures "the UK risks falling behind the advances in artificial intelligence made in the USA and China."
To secure its standing the UK aims to focus on innovation, AI safety and economic prosperity, while fostering a supportive environment for ambitious organisations and individuals.
2. The state of AI talent in the UK
The plan acknowledges both strengths and gaps in the UK’s AI talent pool. In 2022 the UK graduated 46,000 students from AI-relevant programmes, the highest in Europe. Yet on a per-capita basis the country lags behind smaller nations like Finland. Additionally, only 22% of AI professionals are women, underscoring the need for greater diversity.
“If we want the UK to have both world-class AI research and a world-leading AI application ecosystem, we need to be the natural home for elite talent”
The Government’s immediate goal is to train tens of thousands of AI professionals by 2030 and to attract top global researchers. This would put the UK in step with countries like France, whose National AI Commission calculates that the number of French AI graduates would need to triple over the next decade to match estimated demand. As the plan states: “We need the best talent around the world to want to start and scale companies here.”
In the long-term, government needs to create a deeper pool of AI skills and talent that will build, diffuse and use AI products across the economy.
3. Growing the UK’s AI talent base
The plan lays out specific strategies to expand the UK’s AI workforce. “International competition for top talent is fierce. The UK must go further than existing measures and take a more proactive approach at every stage of the talent pipeline,” the plan notes.
The key first step is to accurately assess the size of the skills gap. Current estimates are imprecise and outdated, says the plan, with the last government-funded AI labour market survey in 2020 and the Unit for Future Skills’ jobs and skills dashboard still using supply data from 2019. Once the size of the skills gap is confirmed the Government will concentrate on:
- Higher education support: Encouraging universities to develop new courses co-designed with industry.
- Diversity initiatives: Expanding AI conversion courses and introducing programmes like hackathons and school competitions to engage underrepresented groups.
- Alternative pathways: Promoting apprenticeships, lifelong learning and other non-traditional routes into AI careers, including employer and self-led upskilling.
- Scholarship programmes: Launching a flagship initiative akin to the Rhodes or Fulbright scholarships to attract top AI students worldwide.
- Internal headhunting: Establishing capability on a par with top AI firms to bring a small number of elite individuals to the UK. Government should build on the success of the AI Safety Institute in attracting top talent. This may include recruiting more people into public AI labs as well as UK-based companies. Officials will need flexibility to develop specific offers and provide wraparound support to talent targets – recognising that to truly ‘headhunt’ talent the programme will need to be backed by appropriate funding.
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Creation of a technical senior civil servant stream: Benchmarking of internal AI-related role pay to at least 75% of private-sector rate and a technical AI recruitment screening process.
These measures reflect an understanding that AI education must be accessible and aligned with the needs of a dynamic labour market.
4. Lifelong learning in an AI-driven economy
With AI set to augment or replace roles across industries, the Action Plan highlights lifelong learning as a priority. “AI will continue to change the labour market,” the plan notes. “What is certain is while some jobs will be replaced by AI, many will be augmented – and an unknown number will be created. Government should ensure there are sufficient opportunities for workers to reskill, both into AI and AI-enabled jobs and more widely.”
The plan emphasises the importance of ensuring that workers are prepared for these shifts through accessible education and training opportunities. Government-backed initiatives will enable workers to reskill for AI-powered jobs. Singapore’s national AI skills platform and South Korea’s AI curriculum were cited as models to consider.
5. Trust and regulation in AI
A core principle of the plan is fostering trust in AI through effective legislation, regulation and data governance. This includes:
- Supporting the AI Safety Institute to maintain global leadership in safe AI research.
- Reforming intellectual property rules to encourage innovation.
- Ensuring transparency in AI use, particularly in sensitive sectors like hiring and public services.
The government’s pro-innovation regulatory approach aims to strike a balance between economic growth and protecting citizens from the most significant risks presented by AI, fostering public trust in the technology, particularly considering the interests of marginalised groups.
6. The Scan, Pilot, Scale approach
The government is championing a Scan > Pilot > Scale framework to accelerate AI adoption:
- Scan: Identify high-impact AI use cases through horizon scanning and partnerships with innovators. Appointing an AI lead for each mission to help identify where AI could be a solution within the mission setting, considering the user needs from the outset.
- Pilot: Test AI applications through light-touch procurement and rapid prototyping.
- Scale: Roll out successful pilots across sectors, using central funding to ensure nationwide reach.
HR leaders can adopt a similar framework within their organisations by:
- Scanning workplace processes for AI opportunities.
- Piloting AI tools to streamline recruitment or employee engagement.
- Scaling successful solutions organisation-wide.
7. AI adoption across the UK
AI adoption is already making an impact in healthcare, education and public services:
- AI-assisted tools have helped some teachers cut down the 15+ hours a week they spend on lesson planning and marking in pilots. Education pilots have shown AI’s ability to provide 92% accuracy in marking literacy assessments.
- Drafting structured reports and forms with AI can cut final document production times by 20-80% in professional services. Trials are underway exploring how these methods can save time for clinical practitioners in the NHS.
- AI-driven diagnostics are improving early detection of diseases like lung cancer.
- Automated threat and anomaly detection is enhancing public safety through better policing and social media monitoring.
The plan envisions similar adoption across industries, particularly in SMEs, to drive productivity and regional economic growth.
8. Opportunities for UK businesses
The Action Plan outlines ways businesses can benefit:
- Incentives for SMEs: Local trade bodies and supply chain initiatives can support AI adoption.
- Collaborative ecosystems: AI sector champions will work with businesses to develop industry-specific adoption strategies, in particular in life sciences, finance services and creative industries.
- Government partnerships: Businesses can engage in public-sector projects to pilot innovative AI solutions.
- Knowledge hub: The Government will publish best-practice guidance, results, case-studies and open-source solutions through a single AI Knowledge Hub accessible to technical and non-technical users across private and public sectors as a single place to access frameworks and insights.
Conclusion: A national mission for AI adoption and leadership
The widespread adoption of AI presents a transformative opportunity to address regional disparities in productivity and economic growth across the UK. With progress accelerating, the emergence of agentic systems – AI capable of reasoning, planning and acting autonomously – signals a profound shift. The familiar chatbots of today are just the beginning. The UK must harness its strengths in research, development and entrepreneurial talent to become a maker, not just a taker, of AI.
The stakes are high. As the Action Plan highlights: “The people and countries who make decisions about how these systems operate and what values they reflect... will have huge influence over our lives.” The UK’s position between the US and Europe, its strong universities and its homegrown champions provide a solid foundation for leadership. However, business-as-usual is not an option. Realising this potential will require bold government action, including absorbing risks, fostering collaboration and maintaining relentless focus.
The payoff is enormous, not only in economic terms but in improved quality of life for people across the country. Scaling AI adoption is essential for this vision to become reality. As the plan emphasises, scale is key to delivering meaningful productivity gains, better citizen experiences and maximum impact from investment.
The plan highlights a significant opportunity for HR to act as a bridge between technology and people. The plan calls for upskilling tens of thousands of workers by 2030 to meet the demands of an AI-powered economy. This includes not only technical roles but also workers who will need AI literacy to thrive in augmented roles.
HR leaders must collaborate with stakeholders across sectors to create training programmes that align with the plan’s national goals. Additionally, HR departments should advocate for ethical AI practices in the workplace. With regulatory frameworks still evolving, HR professionals have a responsibility to monitor AI systems for bias and ensure transparency in their application, particularly in hiring and performance reviews.
What HR and people leaders can learn from the Act
HR leaders should take inspiration from the guiding principle of the AI Opportunities Action Plan: “Does this benefit people and organisations trying to do new and ambitious things?” This question should anchor every decision about AI implementation in your organisation. Here are some steps you can take:
- Conduct a skills audit: Identify current workforce gaps and align reskilling plans with emerging AI needs.
- Collaborate on training: Partner with educational institutions and government programmes to create AI learning pathways.
- Develop AI ethics policies: Establish clear guidelines for how AI is deployed in recruitment, performance reviews and other HR functions.
- Champion diversity: Set measurable goals for increasing diversity in AI roles and actively track progress.
- Embrace the Scan, Pilot, Scale Model: Use this framework to test and scale AI solutions within your organisation.