Starmer to pledge no community is left behind in the 'tech revolution'
The Prime Minister will also unveil an AI tool that will serve as a 'jobcentre in your pocket'
Sir Keir Starmer will pledge that no community is left behind in the “tech revolution” as he unveils new AI tools aimed at helping jobseekers get into work.
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The Prime Minister will promise to make tech work “for everyone, not just the privileged few” in a speech setting out the Government’s plans to prepare people for a changing employment market.
A new “AI assistant,” announced on Monday and designed to provide 24/7 guidance on topics such as career development and job applications through a “CV builder” feature, will be trialled for around three months online.
Officials hope the tool will serve as a “jobcentre in your pocket” for people seeking employment.
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Ahead of the speech, Sir Keir said: “No one doubts the huge potential of tech to change lives. But we have to decide who that change is for.
“This Government’s choice is clear: the tech revolution must work for everyone, not just a privileged few.
“We’re backing British businesses to lead the way, driving growth and investment that turns into more jobs and stronger communities.
“And we’re using tech to bring opportunity to every corner of the country – helping people into work, tackling inequalities, boosting skills and building a fairer future.”
The PM’s speech comes as London Tech Week gets under way, which will bring together ministers and industry experts in the UK capital to discuss how technological changes will shape society.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall announced a range of measures aimed at allowing young people to gain the skills that will help them to secure employment, with some 400,000 across the most disadvantaged schools to be offered AI and tech training.
An AI “bootcamp scheme” will be rolled out across England over the summer to provide those who are at risk of becoming unemployed and out of education and training with resources they may need to find work.
Meanwhile, Business Secretary Peter Kyle said the state will “aggressively” take bigger stakes in fast-growing UK firms, signalling a new wave of corporatism as the Government seeks to hold on to flourishing companies moving overseas to scale.
“You are going to start to see us take more risks, upping the risk threshold in our desire to back British innovation as it scales. I want us to be aggressively ambitious,” he told the Sunday Times.
The approach is an effort to reverse the “brain drain” of successful UK businesses looking abroad, of which Cambridge-based computer chip designer Arm’s decision to list on the US Nasdaq exchange is the most prominent case.
Mr Kyle said: “We lack the capital in the private markets, but we have the opportunity if the Government comes out of the shadows and into the light.”
The Tories cast doubt on how effective the AI tools would be in helping people into work, warning that jobseekers need a “strong economy where employers can afford to hire them” rather than an app.
“We welcome the use of technology to help support skills development but if it’s anything like the AI Skills Hub they launched earlier this year, this initiative will be another damp squib,” shadow technology secretary Julia Lopez said.
“The reality is that Labour are getting the fundamentals wrong. It has made employment more expensive, energy costs are through the roof and businesses are being buried in red tape, making it harder to hire and grow. Labour’s tax doom loop is driving up costs and weakening the foundations businesses need to take on staff.
“Only the Conservatives are offering a serious alternative for a stronger economy that gets Britain working again.”
The Liberal Democrats said it was “absurd” that the Government “thinks people need a jobcentre in their pocket whilst their awful jobs tax is killing so many jobs”.
“Neets (people not in education, employment or training) and the unemployed don’t need another headline-grabbing policy, they need the job creation, opportunities and help to develop skills of the future,” the party’s tech spokeswoman Victoria Collins said.
“That’s why the Liberal Democrats have been working to tackle the root causes with a national people strategy and lifelong training fund.”