UNIONS called for a “digital dividend” for workers as an AI entry-jobs package being announced by the government today needs more “concrete action.”

The TUC described government announcements ahead of Technology Secretary Liz Kendall’s speech at the AI Adoption Summit as “tentative first steps” towards a pro-worker AI agenda.

She is set to lay out a £20 million support package to help young people enter the jobs market under a new partnership between government, industry and trade unions, it has been reported.

The Early Careers Alliance will be co-chaired by Prospect general secretary Mike Clancy and map how entry-level work is changing, offering practical help for businesses on how to redesign roles while maintaining paths for young people.

It will include an AI bootcamp scheme across England to provide young people who are at risk of becoming unemployed and out of education and training, a pathway to work. 

Yesterday, the TUC urged the government “to go further to secure a digital dividend for workers, enact pro-worker rights and regulations, invest in skills to support workers through the AI transition, and enable workers to actively shape the technology’s development and application.”

TUC assistant general secretary Kate Bell said: “By acknowledging the importance of workers and their unions in AI adoption, the government is taking the tentative first steps towards a pro-worker AI agenda — but more concrete action is needed to make it a reality.  

“Fair and effective AI adoption requires respecting the voice, rights and interests of workers. But for too many, AI has become a byword for surveillance, algorithmic pay cuts, and threats of unemployment. 

“Most working people are not anti-AI, but they want an alternative to Big Tech extracting from us all while offering little in return. Today’s announcements on skills and early careers are a good start. 

“We don’t yet know how AI and its impacts are going to play out. But the right approach today can help to shape this technology from the ground up.  

“Give workers legal rights to decide how AI is rolled out at work, make sure they’re represented on boards, and take on vested interests to ensure working people get their fair share. That’s how the government can give workers a real stake in this technology and the wider economy.”