Picture someone in your finance team. In month two of their AI apprenticeship, they map the invoice process that swallows their Tuesday mornings. By the end of month three, a no-code automation they built themselves can be running it, and they are already eyeing the next process. That is what AI skills look like when they stick.
The government published its Digital and Technologies Jobs Plan today, 21 October 2026, with a clear mission: get young people into the digital and tech workplace. That is the right priority. But employers should read Part 4 closely, because that is where the people already on your payroll come in.
What the plan gets right
Around 800,000 digital and technology roles are projected to need filling over the next decade in sectors backed by the Industrial Strategy. Together with industry, the government's ambition is to open "around 200,000 genuine entry-level jobs, including apprenticeships" over the same period: 20,000 a year on average, through a new Digital and Tech Skills Deal.
The case for acting is stark. In cyber security, the share of job adverts open to people with less than a year's experience fell from 25% in 2022 to 16% in 2025. One Skills Deal, a single commitment instead of a separate ask from every scheme, is a genuinely employer-friendly idea. And from August 2026, apprenticeship training for eligible under-25s is fully funded for all employers.
If you can offer a young person a first step, you should.
Where your current team fits
The plan is upfront about its focus. "This does not mean that people already in work matter less," it says, "or that career changers and returners are an afterthought."
For the existing workforce, for AI skills, Part 4 ("Sustain") relies mainly on AI Skills Boost, the government's flagship initiative to help "up to 10 million workers build practical AI skills by 2030". When Skills England launched the AI and automation practitioner apprenticeship in March, it described AI Skills Boost as short courses made available with tech companies, with digital badges for everyone who completes them.
That reach matters. Short courses build awareness quickly and at scale. Our concern is narrower: on their own, they rarely change how a working adult uses AI from Monday to Friday.
The plan makes a similar point. It says AI's productivity gains "are not automatic" and "depend on people knowing how to deploy, supervise and integrate these tools into everyday work". The gap is wide, too: the plan notes that around 22.4 million people, 55% of the UK labour force, cannot do all of the digital tasks that are essential for work.
"We welcome the focus on young people. But a short course rarely changes how someone actually does their job. That takes months of applying AI to a real process, with someone checking the result holds up." Rod Doyle, Co-founder and Director, TESS Group
Why a structured AI apprenticeship changes day-to-day work
Even one of the plan's own workforce case studies, from the Community trade union and Google, used a mix of classroom workshops, online webinars and one-to-one support.
That is the logic of the Level 4 AI and Automation Practitioner apprenticeship (ST1512). Skills England designed it with employers so that apprentices learn to "identify where AI and automation can save time, reduce costs and improve performance", working on real problems such as duplicated data entry and repetitive manual processes. It is open to all employers, in any sector, and it can be funded through the Growth and Skills Levy.
At TESS we deliver it live online for people already in work, in every department. No coding and no technical background is needed. Apprentices map a real process in their own organisation, build a working automation, then pilot and test it with proper attention to data protection and responsible AI. Between sessions, Coachy, our AI tutor, is available 24/7, and each apprentice's line manager gets a sign-in of their own.
The difference from a course is time and accountability. Over months, people apply what they learn to their own work, and an independent assessment checks that it holds up.
What employers can do next
What to do next
- Check your funding route. Levy payers can use their levy, with a co-funding share for apprentices aged 25 and over once it runs out. Employers who do not pay the levy co-fund training for apprentices aged 25 and over, while eligible under-25s are fully funded. FE Week, citing The Guardian, reported on 17 October that ministers are drawing up plans to ask employers to contribute more for apprentices aged 25 and over, possibly phased in from September 2027. Nothing is confirmed, but it is a good reason to plan now.
- Pick one process. Choose something repetitive and rules-based that costs your team hours every week.
- Enrol the person who owns it. The strongest apprentice is usually someone who already knows that process inside out.
- Keep AI Skills Boost in the mix. Let the wider team build a baseline through the short courses, while your apprentices become the people who turn that awareness into working processes.
The Jobs Plan asks employers to open doors for young people. We would add one thing: make sure the people already inside the building can use AI properly too.
Map your funding route and first process
A short conversation with TESS about who in your team could start, how it is funded and which process to tackle first. No obligation.
Or read more about the AI and Automation Practitioner Level 4 apprenticeship.
Frequently asked questions.
What is the Digital and Technologies Jobs Plan?
Published by DCMS on 21 October 2026, it sets out how government and industry aim to open around 200,000 entry-level digital and technology jobs, including apprenticeships, over 10 years, around 20,000 a year, mainly for young people. It has four parts: Inspire, Open, Deliver and Sustain.
What does the Jobs Plan offer people already in work?
Part 4, "Sustain", focuses on digital and AI skills across the workforce. Its main tool is AI Skills Boost, which aims to help up to 10 million workers build practical AI skills by 2030, alongside a refreshed Essential Digital Skills Framework and Standards. The plan says people already in work do not matter less.
How can employers build deeper AI skills in their existing staff?
The Level 4 AI and Automation Practitioner apprenticeship (ST1512) is a structured, funded route for people already in work. Apprentices apply AI and automation to real processes in their own organisation over months, and an independent assessment checks the results. Levy payers can use their levy, and other employers can co-fund.
Sources: DCMS, Digital and Technologies Jobs Plan, 21 October 2026, for the 800,000, 200,000 and 20,000 figures, the cyber security advert data, the Skills Deal, under-25 funding, the "people already in work" quotation, Part 4 and AI Skills Boost, the 22.4 million figure and the Community and Google case study; Skills England and others, AI apprenticeship to close digital skills gap holding back millions of workers, 17 March 2026, for the apprenticeship's design and the AI Skills Boost short courses; FE Week, Employers face paying more for training older apprentices, 17 October 2026, for current co-funding rules and the reported proposal. TESS Group, founded in 2009, is an independent training provider and has a commercial interest in employers choosing apprenticeships.