The extremes of technological abilities in UK workplaces

On my travels, as I train different organisations across different sectors in ethical and responsible use of AI systems, it’s rare that I meet a team in which all of its members are at the same ability level, technically-speaking.

As I begin an AI training session, I ask who already uses AI in their work or private lives. A few hands will go up. Conversely, however, there will be others in the same organisation, in the same or similar roles, who may have yet to upgrade from Windows 10 (or similar technical interest and ability). These employees haven’t even thought about adopting AI tools – they’re light years away from this..

A portion of the UK workforce lacks essential digital skills.

According to the House of Commons Library, approximately 7.5 million UK adults (18%) do not possess the basic digital skills required for the workplace. Around 6.8 million people (13% of the population) have ‘ultra-low’ digital skills, meaning they’re unable to perform fundamental digital tasks.

This skills deficit has significant economic implications. The digital skills gap is estimated to cost the UK economy £63 billion annually . The construction sector exhibits particularly low levels of digital proficiency, with only 35% of workers able to perform all 20 essential digital tasks identified by FutureDotNow .

The UK has been grappling with significant skills gaps across various sectors. According to the International Monetary Fund, the UK workforce exhibits more chronic skills shortages than many peer countries, particularly in high-skill sectors like digital and software, manufacturing, and life sciences.

Upskilling existing employees can be more cost-effective than hiring new talent. Research suggests that upskilling can save businesses up to £36,084 per employee compared to recruiting new staff. This economic incentive is prompting organisations to invest more in internal training programmes.

Investing in employee development has been shown to improve staff retention rates. Data indicates that 94% of employees would stay longer at a company that invests in their learning and development. Companies with strong learning programmes see up to twice the retention of those without.

I’ve done the rounds when it comes to the AI training on offer in my area. There are some fabulous programmes and seminars available; however, the vast, vast majority are aimed at people with digital skills already present. They’re aimed at people who already use such tools, and they show how to leverage them to reach the next level in their business or organisation.

This is not our approach.

Evolve3 CIC’s training is essentially a hand-holding exercise, designed for people who are not entirely digitally competent, to use LLMs. It’s a safe space to demystify the headlines concerning AI tools; no question is too basic, and help is given from beginning to end. We explore the biases and inherent prejudices that may be present in AI, and we show how to train these systems to dilute or eradicate these altogether.

There is a saying: ride the wave or drown.

This is often applied to encourage people to harness generative AI, but it could just as easily apply to use of the internet and basic apps for some people. Digital literacy should be a given, especially in the workplace, but investment into workers’ skills, as detailed above, hasn’t always been a priority for some businesses.

AI can’t replace people; it needs a human in the loop. However, when you see what can be achieved when AI assist humans, you really do start to see the efficiencies.

For example, it’s not inconceivable for workers in most admin-based jobs (as well as lots of others) to save two hours every day if they incorporate AI into their workstream/processes. On an average of £25 per hour, this equates to a saving of £13,000 per employee per annum.

It’s been claimed by experts that small businesses and organisations are going to benefit more from AI than larger ones, due to their ability to implement these applications and their agility to change internal processes and outsource for skills they don’t hold.

I fully believe this.

Digital skills may not be a level playing field within your business/organisation, and that’s the first issue to address. Once everyone is on the same (digital) page, then you can run with AI.

For more information on Evolve3 CIC’s ethical AI training, contact info@evolve3.org.uk