AI bootcamp launched in north-west to combat youth unemployment

• AI summer bootcamp kicks off in the north-west to prevent young people falling into unemployment
• First of its kind initiative brings together government with industry to give young people three weeks of AI and workplace skills training
• Businesses and public sector organisations across the north-west, including JD Sports and Heinz, will have apprenticeships on offer to help people move into employment

Young people out of work or at risk of entering unemployment after school are set to benefit from a first of its kind AI summer bootcamp kicking off in the north-west this week.

The government’s new TechFirst AI Apprenticeship Pathway will build on the Prime Minister’s mission to raise the profile of technical education and create opportunities in every postcode.

Young recruits from communities including Wigan, Blackburn, Blackpool and towns right around the north-west have now started their training.

Delivered on the ground by IN4 Group, the scheme will work in partnership with businesses and public sector organisations across the north-west, creating local career opportunities and trialling the best way to make AI training and career development work for young people today.

Designed to help stem the tide of youth falling into unemployment, the scheme will provide recruits with 3 weeks of AI and workplace skills training. They will learn to build AI tools and understand how businesses use AI, how it can generate draft guides and documentation, and learn to use it responsibly and alongside human oversight and quality control.

Up to 70 young people aged 16 to 21 will take part in the pilot. The participants will also develop key workplace skills in office tools and systems, professional communication, teamwork, timekeeping and organisation, and how to work under pressure and problem-solve in workplace environments.

At the end of the scheme businesses and public sector organisations around the North West, including JD Sports, Heinz, and local SMEs, will have apprenticeships on offer to help people move into employment.

This builds on the Prime Minister’s reforms to ensure every young person has a clear route into skilled work and last week’s commitments from the National Grid to help 5,000 young people into work through a £5m per year Power Within Employability Fund.

Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Lisa Nandy said:

Young people in every postcode deserve the opportunity to a great start to their adult life, and we are tackling the youth unemployment crisis head on.

This first of its kind AI bootcamp will support young people at a crucial juncture in their lives, connecting them with great training and career opportunities at the heart of their local communities.

AI Minister Kaniskha Narayan said:

AI is already transforming the world of work, from time-saving tools that cut out admin through to high-end tech that’s boosting vital fields like medical research.

This is a huge opportunity that will directly benefit young people across the country. This new scheme is about giving them the skills they need to thrive in the AI workplace, and build careers in some of our most exciting industries.

The pilot scheme will test best practice and the results will be used to inform an England-wide AI skills and early careers scheme which will roll out next summer.

This builds on the initial work of the £200m TechFirst skills programme which since being announced in summer 2025 has already reached over 100,000 young people, helped 500 domestic PhD students with financial support for critical tech research, and is preparing to rollout to schools from September.

Mo Isap OBE, CEO of IN4 Group, said:

Too many young people are leaving school without a clear route into the opportunities AI is creating. If we’re serious about tackling youth unemployment, we have to rethink how young people move from education into work by creating pathways that connect talent with paid careers.

We’ve spent years building trusted partnerships with schools, local authorities and employers across the north-west through our MEGA Hubs, and with the support of Government we now have the opportunity to demonstrate what’s possible.

We have created a model that gives more young people a genuine route into high-value careers where AI skills are increasingly essential, while helping employers develop the talent they need for the future.

source: GOV