{"id":7478,"date":"2023-10-30T13:27:05","date_gmt":"2023-10-30T12:27:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/?p=7478"},"modified":"2023-11-02T14:08:14","modified_gmt":"2023-11-02T13:08:14","slug":"uk-must-close-skills-gaps-if-its-to-become-an-ai-superpower","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/?p=7478","title":{"rendered":"UK must close skills gaps if it\u2019s to become an AI superpower"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Sascha Giese, Tech Evangelist, SolarWinds<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
Sascha Giese, Tech Evangelist, SolarWinds<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The UK Government has made no secret of its ambitions to become an artificial intelligence (AI) superpower. Introducing a pro-innovation approach in the recent AI regulation policy paper, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Michelle Donelan, outlined a technology-led future leading to better public services and high-quality jobs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMost of us are only now beginning to understand the transformative potential of AI as the technology rapidly improves,\u201d wrote Ms Donelan<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRecent advances in things like generative AI give us a glimpse into the enormous opportunities that await us in the near future if we are prepared to lead the world in the AI sector with our values of transparency, accountability and innovation,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the UK \u2014 or any other nation \u2014 cannot lead the world in AI unless it can muster enough people with the right skills to make it happen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A report<\/a> by the National Audit Office (NAO) on digital transformation published earlier this year warned the \u201cexisting skills gap is getting worse\u201d with the public sector lagging behind the private sector. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Addressing the AI skills shortage<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report also said only 4% of civil servants are digital professionals, compared with an industry average of between 8% and 12% \u2014 a situation made worse because there is already a major digital skills shortage in the UK. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coupled with the fact that skilled digital professionals command a premium in the market \u2014 along with the spike in demand for people with AI skills \u2014it\u2019s clear the recruitment challenge has become even more acute. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clearly, education is key. Research commissioned by Amazon from Capital Economics<\/a> found jobs requiring computer science, AI, or Machine Learning skills are expected to increase by 40% in the next five years. Recognising the urgency of the situation, last year the digital giant unveiled a schools-based programme, designed to inspire young people about the potential of AI.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While such schemes are to be applauded, they are a long-term solution that will not deliver results overnight. So, how does the public sector address the skills market? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One idea would be for the Government to tap into resources held by the private sector to recruit the necessary skills. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking to the private sector \u2014 and beyond \u2014 for recruits<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a point made by Cabinet Office minister Jeremy Quin during the summer in a speech to the Policy Exchange think tank. He said<\/a> the Government planned to create \u201ca pathway for them [private sector AI specialists] to join the Civil Service\u201d via secondment programmes.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When pressed on the issue of the disparity in pay between the public and private sectors, he suggested  more lucrative remuneration packages could be offered. But he also suggested some people may want to be part of the government\u2019s ambitious plans out of a sense of duty. He may well have a point. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, I would go further. If the government is considering parachuting in AI experts from private companies, it must also consider attracting them from abroad as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After all, not everyone wants to work for a big tech company. In some global regions, the public sector has a much better reputation than the private sector. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it goes without saying increasing the number of women in tech could benefit the sector. It was a point made recently in a report published by the Alan Turing Institute. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is a troubling and persistent absence of women employed in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data Science fields. Over three-quarters of professionals in these fields globally are male (78%); less than a quarter are women (22%) (World Economic Forum, 2018). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the UK, this drops to 20% of women. This stark male dominance results in a feedback loop shaping gender bias in AI and machine learning systems. It is also fundamentally an ethical issue of social and economic justice and one of value-in-diversity,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, not every new role in the world of AI will be a tech job. Not everyone needs to be a programmer. However, I would expect people who join the sector to have some basic understanding of coding to give them a better understanding of how AI works. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But perhaps the biggest skill we need, though, is the ability to adapt. After all, there\u2019s little doubt that AI will fundamentally impact the workplace. And that means we will all<\/em> have to embrace AI \u2014 regardless of our jobs as technology plays an ever-greater role in our lives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n

By Sascha Giese, Tech Evangelist, SolarWinds<\/p>\n

Sascha Giese, Tech Evangelist, SolarWinds <\/p>\n

The UK Government has made no secret of its ambitions to become an artificial intelligence (AI) superpower. Introducing a pro-innovation approach in the recent AI regulation policy paper, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Michelle Donelan, outlined a technology-led future <\/p>\n

Continue reading UK must close skills gaps if it\u2019s to become an AI superpower<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[933,3758,153,25,417,26,416,422,1152],"class_list":["post-7478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-it-it-security","tag-ai-technology","tag-alan-turing-institute","tag-cabinet-office","tag-government-public-sector-journal","tag-government-journal","tag-gpsj","tag-public-sector-journal","tag-public-sector-magazine","tag-solarwinds","odd"],"yoast_head":"\nUK must close skills gaps if it\u2019s to become an AI superpower - Government & Public Sector Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gpsj.co.uk\/?p=7478\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UK must close skills gaps if it\u2019s to become an AI superpower - Government & Public Sector Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Sascha Giese, Tech Evangelist, SolarWinds Sascha Giese, Tech Evangelist, SolarWinds The UK Government has made no secret of its ambitions to become an artificial intelligence (AI) superpower. 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