AI Apprenticeship launch to tackle skills gap

Government figures have suggested AI has the potential to add up to £400 billion to the UK economy by 2030, and research shows AI is making workers more valuable and productive, with AI skilled workers seeing an average 56% wage premium. But despite the hype and the potential there is little sign that productivity is increasing yet. The tools are everywhere. The capability to use them well is not, with common barriers being limited skills, ethical concerns and cost.

The new AI & Automation Practitioner Apprenticeship is designed to teach the skills, and also the judgement, organisations need to close the gap between potential and reality – employees who can identify where AI creates value, implement it responsibly using low-code/no-code tools, and measure whether it is actually working.

This apprenticeship is designed for people already working in roles where AI and automation is becoming part of what they're expected to lead. It is for experienced professionals navigating a significant shift in how their organisation operates. 

This programme is distinctive because it teaches AI tools and also develops the professional judgement to use them well. Apprentices will leave able to assess whether an AI solution is the right solution, implement it with appropriate governance, and measure whether it is actually delivering value. That combination of technical capability, business understanding, and critical evaluation is what the standard demands and what the market currently lacks.

The apprenticeship is being developed in consultation with major North West employers, including the BBC. Suzanne Lord, Head of Operations at the BBC, said: “AI is an incredibly exciting space with huge potential. But real value comes not just from the technology itself, but from understanding where it can make a meaningful difference and how to use it responsibly. Learning how to evaluate opportunities for AI, and then successfully implement and embed it, is valuable knowledge that will benefit organisations and individuals alike.”

The programme is delivered as a collaboration between the Business School and Computer Science at Salford – giving apprentices both the commercial lens and the technical expertise to help transform the businesses they work. It is particularly well suited to organisations in public sector, regulated, or high-stakes environments where the cost of getting AI wrong is high, but equally to any employer that wants implementation that sticks rather than initiatives that stall.

Nathan Topping, Lecturer in Data Science, helped develop the course at Salford. He said: “AI has genuine and significant potential – but most organisations are not yet realising it, and in two distinct ways. 

“The tools are widely available and widely used, but too often in superficial ways: redrafting emails, summarising documents, small productivity gains sitting alongside existing processes largely unchanged. At the same time, where organisations are deploying AI more seriously, too many do so without a fundamental understanding of how it actually works: what it can and cannot do, where its outputs can be trusted, and where they cannot. We have already seen examples of AI hallucinations appearing in court cases – demonstrating what can happen when outputs are accepted without appropriate scrutiny. 

“Organisations need practitioners who can do both: move beyond surface-level adoption to identify where AI can genuinely transform how work gets done, while understanding its limitations well enough to assess risk, challenge outputs, and ensure appropriate controls are in place. This programme is designed to produce exactly those practitioners."

Aishatu Mohammed, Salford Business School Lecturer in Business IT, said: “AI adoption is not just a technical challenge; it also requires strong business understanding and effective organisational change. Many organisations now have access to AI tools, but the real challenge is knowing where AI can add value, how to implement it responsibly, and how to make sure it improves the way people and organisations work.

“The key differentiator for this programme is its focus beyond technical skills and into the business aspects of AI adoption, with particular emphasis on the human and organisational elements, as well as responsible use of the technology.”