TL;DR

The Department for Work and Pensions recorded 128,779 completions of AI training over the past 12 months, THINK Digital Partners reported on Wednesday 7 October. The data came from a Freedom of Information request, which the think tank Parliament Street analysed, and the department put the cost of the training at £112,995.

What the figures show

The data covers 12 AI programmes, from basic AI literacy up to advanced machine learning, all supplied by the Cabinet Office through its digital skills scheme for the whole of government. Almost all the activity sat on one route. The “AI for All” pathway logged 73,045 completions of its first part and 53,001 of its second.

Training aimed at the Senior Civil Service accounted for 1,620 completions. The other nine, more specialised programmes recorded 1,113 between them.

THINK Digital Partners describes the headline number as employees trained. The breakdown suggests a narrower reading. Adding the four groups together gives exactly 128,779, and the two parts of “AI for All” make up most of that. In our view, many people who finished part two will also be counted for part one, so the total is best read as course completions rather than individual staff. On that basis the department spent under £1 per completion.

Where it fits

DWP, which THINK Digital Partners calls the UK’s largest public service department, is a named partner in the government’s AI Skills Boost programme, whose target is for 10 million UK workers to gain practical AI skills, with 2030 as the deadline.

Industry voices welcomed the numbers. Stuart Harvey, chief executive of data company Datactics, said targeted training would let the public sector offer “safer and more responsive services built on strong data foundations”. FDM Group’s chief operating officer, Sheila Flavell, said DWP had shown “a clear commitment to building AI capability”.

Looking forward

In our view, the low cost per completion is the more telling detail. It suggests the spend went on introductory material delivered at scale rather than deep technical training, which fits the report’s note that demand was strongest for foundational skills among frontline staff. That is a sensible base for wider adoption. The harder measure, which an FOI on course completions cannot answer, is whether DWP staff are now using AI tools safely in daily work, and with what effect on claimants.