Flexible AI Upskilling Fund

Want up to £10k in grant funding for AI training?

If you are a UK SME and work in the professional and business services sectors (i.e. consulting, recruitment, accounting, advertising, market research, audit, etc..), you could be eligible for up to £10k towards training in AI.

Technology Secretary, Michelle Donelan, said:

“Businesses of all sizes and across all sectors, from architecture to law and HR to advertising, are identifying the huge benefits that AI can bring in helping staff boost their productivity while cutting business costs.

“I have launched this new pilot to help SMEs interested in AI adoption make it a reality by contributing towards the cost of upskilling their employees – ultimately increasing efficiency so companies can retain a competitive edge in an increasingly digital world.”

Flexible AI Upskilling Fund

On 1 May 2024, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology launches a new scheme to help UK employers and employees to upskill and understand the opportunities for using artificial intelligence (AI).

What AI training could mean for your SME?

While you might not think of AI as something appropriate for your business, over the last year, I’ve worked with over a hundred individuals to understand how generative AI could help both their businesses and them professionally.

Automation

Automation is the core capability people mostly think of when initially exploring AI. How can AI be used to save me time and do the boring work, freeing me up to do the more interesting stuff?

Example use cases include:

• Social media and web content
• Customer service assistants
• Email processing
• Business documentation
• Reporting
• Bid and proposal writing

Cognition

One of the secrets of those who have spent some time with AI is its ability to make you smarter. People aren’t shouting about this as they don’t want everyone else to know why they are suddenly able to perform at a much higher level. AI doesn’t just make things easier, smart users are using it to make things better.

Example use cases include:

• Concept testing
• Viewpoint analysis
• Approach simulation
• Expert panel

Research

AI has changed the way SMEs conduct research. Want to generate a knowledge base for your organisation, analyse your customer feedback, find out how a problem is approached in different cultures, spot trends in your client base and see how your changes are impacting your business? With AI, things are different. Anyone can be a data guru.

Example use cases include:

• Deep research
• Automated data gathering
• Sentiment analysis
• Insight harvesting

Creativity

Think that AI is bad for creativity? Well, you need to start thinking outside the box. AI can enable creativity on a whole new level, don’t take the first idea that comes to mind, take 50, explore them, combine them, test them and visualise them. No graphic skills, terrible eye, blind… no problem AI’s got you.

Example use cases include:

• Idea generation
• Image generation
• Brand asset creation
• Concept visualisation

Whatever your business there are hundreds of use cases for AI, each one of which can accelerate your business.

How to apply

To apply for this funding:

1. Check eligibility
2. Identify AI training
3. Complete the online grant application

1. Check eligibility

The funding competition will be open to applicants who are:

• registered and operates in the UK
• employ between one to 249 employees in the UK
• defined as an SME (see below*)
• have been operating for at least one year
• able to match-fund 50% of the cost of the training
• operate in the professional and business services sector

2. Identify AI training

To be eligible for grant funding, you must select training that can be delivered by a training provider that meets one of the following two criteria:

1. Registered on the UKRLP
2. An accredited organisation

3. Complete online grant application

Once you've confirmed you are eligible and selected the appropriate AI training, you are ready to complete the online application form.

The application form consists of four sections:

• Administrative details
• Business eligibility
• Training eligibility
• How the funding will support AI adoption

Applications are open on 1 May and the AI Accelerator will be helping any business interested to apply and find the right training for them.

Find out more here