TL;DR

UK technology secretary Liz Kendall has acknowledged that AI deployment will cause job losses, particularly in graduate entry roles in law and finance. The government has announced plans to train up to 10 million British workers in basic AI skills by 2030—including cabinet members—whilst aiming to make Britain “the fastest AI adoption country in the G7.”

Government Confronts Job Displacement

Speaking at Bloomberg’s London headquarters, Kendall said: “I want to level with the public. Some jobs will go.” While declining to specify how many redundancies might occur, she acknowledged: “We know people are worried about graduate entry jobs in places like law and finance.”

The minister argued that more jobs will be created than lost, but added: “I’m not complacent about that.” She pledged Labour “won’t leave people to struggle on their own” and described the rollout as “the biggest single plan to upskill the nation since Harold Wilson’s Open University.”

Skills Investment and Partnerships

The training programme will involve Multiverse, a company founded by Euan Blair, plus a new programme supporting women moving into entry-level tech roles. A new “future of work unit” is being established in the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology with involvement from trades unions and business leaders.

The government has also partnered with US AI companies: Anthropic is building a pilot assistant tool for gov.uk to give jobseekers career advice, whilst a $1m Meta donation supports AI systems for defence, national security and transport.

Looking Forward

Kendall framed the transformation as “an industrial revolution [taking place] in a decade” and said jobs would be created around four AI growth zones. For UK businesses, the government’s focus on adaptation rather than resistance signals an expectation that AI adoption will accelerate regardless—making workforce skills investment a priority for organisations of all sizes.