The UK government launches a pilot scheme of three-week “AI boot camps” for unemployed young people as its latest attempt to address the NEETs crisis.
UK Pilots AI Boot Camps for Unemployed Young People
Young people out of work or at risk of unemployment are to join “AI boot camps” in which they learn to build AI tools, understand how businesses use AI and use the technology responsibly, plus workplace skills like office IT and timekeeping. The north-west England pilot will take up to 70 people aged 16–21, with the government hoping most will gain apprenticeships at firms including BAE Systems and Heinz. AI tools come from Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic.
The pilot will shape an England-wide AI skills scheme due to roll out next summer. It responds to NEET numbers (16–24 not in work or education) surpassing 1 million for the first time since 2013, with a Milburn review warning of a possible “lost generation”. Experts call it a “good idea in principle” but sceptical a three-week course makes teens genuinely “AI-ready”.
Why it matters: The government turning to AI — the very technology seen as threatening entry-level jobs — to fix youth unemployment is a telling policy signal, and the sceptical take (three weeks vs continuous learning) is worth the owner’s attention.
Definitely a good move but the challenge will be keeping the NEET engaged. The course should include topic of agents with a project for each person to create their own agent to help coach then to no longer be a NEET. Ongoing funding or resource to an agent solution (like Hermes) and a nominal allowance for model usage should be included. Maybe UK government can build and include a local model