Whitehall asks training provider to help plug national AI skills gap

Training provider Nine Dots Development is developing a raft of new courses after being asked by the Government to help plug a national AI skills gap in businesses.

The Derby firm, which has recently received a rare Ofsted judgement of ‘Strong’ in all areas, is now taking bookings for its new short training courses in AI management, after being invited to deliver them by the Department for Education.

Fully funded by the Government, the five-week courses are designed to help business leaders and managers get the right skills to adopt and run AI strategies in an ethical, sustainable and practical way, without embarking on the time commitment of a full apprenticeship.

The courses include a three-part AI funded unit set at a ‘level 5’ – the equivalent of the second year of a university degree – with each part taking 30 hours each.

Each course is divided into four day-long workshops plus a teaching and an assessment day, the first course covers ‘AI Strategy and Opportunity’ and is aimed at business leaders who are at an early stage of adopting AI within their organisations.

The course covers areas such as where AI could add the most value; how to assess opportunities and plan the most pilots, and how to secure stakeholder and board support.

The second funded unit covers adoption, procurement and governance. It includes important elements such as data protection; regulatory requirements, effective human oversight, and how leaders can compare different AI options including any already switched on by default.

The third funded unit is designed to help leaders through the process of implementing their AI strategy safely, assessing the impact on the workforce, identifying any risks and building audit-ready compliance.

Earlier this year Nine Dots launched a new AI and Automation Champion 15-month apprenticeship as part of its new cutting-edge digital training programme.

The company’s new digital apprenticeships saw huge take up and record revenue, discovering more than £1 million in just eight weeks as businesses around the UK rushed to sign candidates up to learn the latest skills in AI – with leaders and more junior staff often learning side by side.

James Davison, technical director and co-founder at Nine Dots Development, said: “We are delighted to have been asked by the Government to deliver new, shorter AI funded units sitting alongside the AI & Automation Champion apprenticeship we successfully started delivering earlier this year.

“The Department for Education approached us to deliver the new AI funded units after we demonstrated our expertise through our Strong in all areas Ofsted report – which we were very proud to receive.

“We have conducted extensive research internally at Nine Dots around AI and how it should be implemented ethically, fairly and sustainably.

“Many people are understandably nervous about AI but through proper training and procedures it is a very powerful tool that can bring significant efficiencies and benefits to businesses.”