AI skills report puts the prize at £80bn and asks for a tax credit
A Learning and Work Institute study finds small firms far behind large ones on AI use, and wants employers paid a higher ‘AI super-rate’ for accredited training until 2030
- Survey: YouGov online poll of 1,012 UK HR decision-makers, June 2026
- Leadership gap: almost two-thirds (63%) of employers said stronger leadership and management skills would help them adopt AI
- Digital skills: 48% of working-age adults can complete all 20 basic tasks in the government’s Essential Digital Skills framework
- Qualifications: the report wants approval times for technical qualifications halved
The report puts the weight on managers rather than tools, which suggests the next phase of AI adoption will be held back by leadership capability more than by access to software. For smaller firms, that makes management training likely a better first spend than more licenses. The backing of an IT services owner's foundation also hints that suppliers see subsidized training as a route to demand.
“We need employers to invest in training as much as AI, backed by an agile skills system, to make the most of the huge potential ahead.”Stephen Evans, chief executive, Learning and Work Institute
The Learning and Work Institute (L&W) and The Rigby Foundation published Building an AI-ready workforce on 22 September. The report estimates that comprehensive AI upskilling could add £80bn to the UK economy by 2035. The Rigby Foundation is chaired by Steve Rigby, chief executive of Rigby Group, whose divisions include the IT services business SCC.
The £80bn is a modelled net present value. It rests on the Office for Budget Responsibility’s central scenario and a cost-benefit ratio model built to HM Treasury’s Green Book guidelines, and on an economy-wide productivity boost of 2.3% by 2035.
Adoption is wide but shallow. In the report’s YouGov survey, 85% of respondents used AI in some capacity but only 18% used it extensively. Large firms were more than twice as likely as small ones to use it extensively (25% against 11%), and 26% of small organizations did not use it at all, against 3% of large ones.
The five recommendations are proposals to government rather than policy. Alongside a Skills Tax Credit of 20p for every £1 spent on accredited training, with a 30p “AI super-rate” until 2030, they call for an AI Skills Intelligence Unit, an AI transition module in the Help to Grow: Management scheme, faster approval of technical qualifications and standard AI microcredentials.
Sources
- Learning and Work Institute, “AI skills investment could add £80 billion to the UK economy”, news release, 22 September 2026. https://learningandwork.org.uk/ai-skills-investment-could-add-80-billion-to-the-uk-economy
- Learning and Work Institute and The Rigby Foundation, “Building an AI-ready workforce”, report, 22 September 2026. https://learningandwork.org.uk/building-an-ai-ready-workforce
- Rigby Group, company website, divisions overview. https://www.rigbygroupplc.com/
