Young people in Oldham who are at risk of leaving school after their GCSEs and heading into unemployment will be offered a free AI skills bootcamp under a government pilot launching this summer. The North West trial will cover Wigan, Blackpool, Oldham, Blackburn and Lancashire, and those who complete it are guaranteed a fully paid AI apprenticeship.

The pilot will be run by the delivery partner IN4 Group. The apprenticeships will be supported by local employers including JD Sports, BAE Systems, PA Consulting and Agilisys, along with Wigan, Blackpool, Oldham, Blackburn and Lancashire councils. If it works, the government plans to roll out a nationwide AI bootcamp programme across England in the 2027 to 2028 academic year.

It is one part of a package announced by Technology Secretary Liz Kendall ahead of London Tech Week. A separate pilot will launch in early 2027 around the North East's AI Growth Zone, aimed at young people aged 18 to 24 who are already out of work or training. That scheme promises at least 6 months of work with hands-on AI training, delivered with Accenture, Microsoft and Sage through the government's Jobs Guarantee.

Kendall also set out a new Early Careers Jobs Alliance, backed by £20 million, bringing together government, employers, trade unions and young people. It will be co-chaired by Prospect general secretary Mike Clancy and Katie Gallagher OBE, the government's AI Champion for the Digital and Technologies sector. The alliance will examine how AI is changing entry-level work, publish practical guidance for businesses on redesigning roles without closing off routes in, and report for the first time this autumn. It starts with the Digital and Technologies sector before extending to all 8 Industrial Strategy sectors.

Through TechFirst, the government's national tech skills programme, at least 400,000 students from some of the most disadvantaged schools in the UK will get AI and tech training. They will take part in skills sessions, school competitions, extra-curricular activities and industry events.

Kendall said: "My priority is building an AI future that is pro-business and pro-worker, where AI enhances work, and people are supported through the jobs transition - not left to cope on their own." She added that young people "want a future where they can get on, get skilled, and get good jobs".

Clancy said some of the roles most exposed to AI are held by young workers, and that "it is vital that we do not cut off pathways to career progression and learning in the relentless search for efficiency".

The announcements sit alongside an £820 million investment in the Youth Guarantee, which the government says will support almost one million young people, create 350,000 new training places and workplaces, provide 55,000 guaranteed jobs for the long-term unemployed and fund over 360 youth hubs across Great Britain. A major investigation led by Alan Milburn into the barriers preventing young people from accessing work is also under way.