SAS to provide free AI training in national drive to equip 7.5 million workers with essential AI and tech skills

Data and AI leader SAS has put its full backing behind a new government initiative that aims to train 7.5 million workers in the UK with the essential skills needed in AI and tech over the next five years - part of the Plan for Change and the forthcoming Industrial Strategy, to embed digital and AI learning across the UK workforce and communities. SAS will provide businesses with free training materials and access to its AI experts, as a key anchor partner of the government-led skills programme.

PM Sir Keir Starmer announced the government-industry partnership on June 9 with an aim to equip 20% of the UK workforce with the necessary AI skills that will enable them to use and interact with the latest technologies. This includes GenAI apps like Chat GPT, Grok and Gemini that have skyrocketed in use with at least 7 million workers in the UK estimated to have used GenAI at work already.

Eleven leading technology companies, including SAS, have signed up to the partnership and committed to making high-quality training materials widely available to workers in UK businesses – large and small - free of charge, over the next five years.

Training will focus on enabling workers to understand AI systems such as chatbots and large language models to boost productivity across a wide range of roles. Sector-specific training will also be developed to meet the needs of industries from healthcare to finance to manufacturing - in a bid to support businesses and organisations as they look to harness the power of AI to fuel growth strategies.

Glyn Townsend, Senior Director of Education Services at SAS EMEA, said: “Artificial intelligence is reshaping work faster than any previous technology, and doing so across an unprecedented five distinct generations active in the UK labour market. The UK already ranks third in the global AI league - we must therefore equip every worker, from apprentices to octogenarians, with the ability to seize the opportunities this revolution creates and leverage new innovative technologies from our world-leading universities and entrepreneurs. By backing this programme, we will ensure equitable access to the skills that drive both meaningful careers and sustainable growth.”

Nicky Furlong, Head of Public Sector, Health & Life Sciences, SAS Northern Europe, added: “SAS has long-standing partnerships with the UK government plus education has always been at the heart of SAS - from the company’s origins nearly 50 years ago to global initiatives like our collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat, and deep associations with more than 120 UK universities where SAS is embedded in the curriculum. Our approach is grounded in the principle that innovation in AI must be responsible and trustworthy; designed to serve society fairly, and ensure that the benefits of AI are accessible to everyone.”

SAS, alongside the programme’s other tech partners, has met with Technology Secretary, Peter Kyle, to discuss how the programme will meet its 2030 target.

Since its origins in the late 1960s, SAS has always held a strong belief that access to skills is essential to thriving economies and it has long championed AI and data skills development in the UK through its evolving initiatives and partnerships.

A commitment to AI and data literacy for all is provided via free online foundation courses from SAS in ‘Data Literacy Essentials’ and ‘Responsible Innovation and Trustworthy AI’, with the latter approved for general use by the European Commission.

SAS has longstanding relationships with many UK universities, where free software and curriculum resources are made available for academics and students. The Russell Group of 24 research-intensive universities, and 50 other UK universities license SAS for teaching and research purposes. It has also partnered with the University of Cambridge’s Maxwell Centre, to drive healthcare innovation through its Advanced Analytics Hub, embedding AI expertise to support researchers and startups.

Through its Future Analysts programme with The Talent Foundry, SAS equips young people in disadvantaged areas with hands-on AI software skills and digital badges, while in March 2021, it launched its successful SAS STEP programme, a free reskilling and employment initiative to empower the UK and Ireland’s workforce with data skills to rebuild from the pandemic. The programme was then used to support SAS delivery of data literacy learning pathways around the world.

Every year SAS hosts hackathons to foster practical AI expertise with SAS mentors, and the annual SAS Curiosity Cup is a global platform for students to showcase their skills by submitting a team project of their own choice.

SAS has also partnered the Commonwealth AI Consortium with a donation of £8m for training and access to AI software and computing capacity to support 10,000 higher education students and educators.

In 2024, SAS was the only leader in AI recognised by four separate analysts covering AI, Machine Learning, data science and decision intelligence - cementing its position and importance to the future of AI skills in the UK.

To find out more about the Government’s industry-led partnership to equip UK workers with essential AI skills, you can read here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-launches-national-skills-drive-to-unlock-opportunities-for-young-people-in-tech