While Sir Keir Starmer's flagship pledge at London Tech Week to train one million students in AI may seem promising for the tech sector, new data reveals a growing regional disparity.
London is quickly outpacing the rest of the country in terms of AI job creation, investment and training. This raises concerns that the º£½ÇÊÓƵ's goal to be an "AI maker, not an AI taker" could stumble without a more evenly distributed strategy.
Coinciding with London Tech Week, Accenture's º£½ÇÊÓƵ tech talent tracker disclosed that 80 per cent of AI job postings are now located in the capital, which also represents 65 per cent of all tech vacancies.
Although demand for AI talent has surged nearly 200 per cent year on year nationwide, only a few regional hotspots – such as Glasgow, Liverpool and Leeds – are experiencing similar growth.
The report paints a worrying picture of the º£½ÇÊÓƵ's AI readiness beyond the M25, as reported by .
London firms plan to dedicate 19 per cent of their tech budgets to AI in 2025 – significantly ahead of other regions across the country, where that figure drops to 13 per cent.
Likewise, 58 per cent of London firms are actively investing in generative AI training, compared to just 40 per cent outside the capital.
Emma Kendrew, Accenture's º£½ÇÊÓƵ tech lead, stated that the º£½ÇÊÓƵ has a "golden opportunity to lead globally in AI – yet warned of a growing digital divide.
She said: "To fully capitalise on AI's economic potential, regions outside of London must also compete for talent and infrastructure. The disparity in AI upskilling raises serious concerns for the º£½ÇÊÓƵ's long term competitiveness."
The government's own research supports this urgency, revealing that by 2035, AI is expected to feature directly or indirectly in over 13 million º£½ÇÊÓƵ jobs.
This highlights the necessity of addressing the skills gap as not just a regional concern but an economic imperative.
On the inaugural day of London Tech Week, Prime Minister Keir Starmer emphasised the importance of skills for the º£½ÇÊÓƵ's future growth strategy.
He announced a £187m 'tech first' programme and an ambitious target to train 7.6 million workers in AI by 2030, positioning AI as a key driver for equitable economic expansion.
"We're putting the power of AI into the hands of the next generation", he declared at the event.
Alongside him was Nvidia's Jensen Huang, who stressed the need to view AI as "critical infrastructure" and urged the º£½ÇÊÓƵ to commit to sustained investment in education, computing power, and security.
Their commitment includes plans to fund AI and digital training for one million secondary school students, as well as new master's scholarships aimed at placing the º£½ÇÊÓƵ's finest talents in AI research at nine top universities.
Additionally, a new government-endorsed platform will centralise AI educational resources for schools and colleges.
Minister for AI, Feryal Clark, has stated that the government's 'AI opportunities action plan' is designed to guarantee "every region shares in the benefits of growth".
