Apprenticeships play a leading role in closing the AI skills gap

A year after the UK Government launched its AI Action Plan to boost global competitiveness and accelerate economic growth, it’s clear that closing the AI skills gap remains essential for success. Doing so will support productivity, growth and workforce resilience across the wider economy.

To unlock the true economic potential of AI, we must invest in the people who will power it. Progress will be defined by an appropriately skilled and trained workforce; research and infrastructure alone are not enough. Apprentices are vital to grow this talent pool so the UK can take a leading role on the global AI stage.

While apprenticeships aren’t new, they’re underrepresented in modern fields such as AI. But with demand for these skills on a continued upward trajectory, apprenticeships offer a scalable and accessible route to nurture and grow the expertise today’s employers are struggling to find.

Supporting productivity and economic growth

Improving productivity is an evergreen challenge for the UK. Analysis by the European House Ambrosetti in 2025 suggested the UK will need annual productivity growth of at least 0.7% cent simply to maintain current GDP growth, rising to over 1% to sustain living standards in the long term.

Work-based learning plays a vital role in addressing this challenge. Apprenticeships help embed skills directly into the workplace, ensuring learning translates into output beyond theory-based learning.

And there is evidence that supports this approach. Research from the Chartered Management Institute found that higher-level apprentices who qualified in 2019 are expected to contribute £7 billion to the UK economy by 2029. The same analysis showed that organisations using management apprenticeships saw average productivity gains of around £7,000 per apprentice over the course of a programme.

For employers, apprentices completing degree-level programmes enter roles with both formal qualifications and several years of applied experience. This combination enables them to contribute quickly and effectively, offering a strong return on investment compared perhaps with more traditional graduate routes.

Improving retention and workforce stability

In my experience, apprenticeships are increasingly used not only to attract new talent but also to retain and reskill existing employees. In sectors experiencing rapid technological change, this flexibility is non-negotiable.

Government research shows that around 80% of employers who recruit apprentices report improved staff retention. Higher retention rates strengthen the business case for apprenticeships while helping to reduce persistent skills shortages.

From a learner’s perspective, apprenticeships can foster a strong sense of commitment. Earning while learning, combined with a clear progression pathway, often increases engagement and loyalty. For this reason, many employers now offer permanent employment from the outset, reinforcing the long-term value of the apprenticeship route.

In the context of AI adoption, retention matters. As organisations invest in training staff to work with advanced technologies, keeping that expertise in-house becomes a priority.

Delivering staff of the future

The scale of the upskilling challenge is significant. Ambrosetti estimates that more than 40 million workers in the UK will require upskilling by 2030, with millions relying on non-traditional learning pathways such as digital credentials and work-based training.

Apprenticeships can help meet this need by focusing on the knowledge, skills and behaviours required for specific roles and industries. This structure ensures learners not only acquire technical capability but also develop the soft skills and professional behaviours needed to apply AI effectively in real-world scenarios.

As AI technologies evolve rapidly, curricula must also adapt. Integrating AI literacy, data skills and ethical understanding into apprenticeship standards is increasingly important, particularly as generative AI becomes embedded in everyday business operations.

Equally, the way apprentices learn must continue to evolve. Collaborative and peer-led learning models (where learners share emerging knowledge with colleagues and managers) can help organisations stay agile while reinforcing a culture of continuous learning.

Final thoughts

In the race for AI dominance, the ultimate advantage isn’t just better technology – it’s better-skilled people. Apprenticeships are the most direct and proven route to creating them.

For the UK to remain competitive, we must treat skills development as an economic imperative. It’s time to move apprenticeships from the sidelines to the very heart of our national industrial and educational strategy.

By Jenny Taylor, UK Early Professionals Program Leader at IBM