The UK Government has published new draft guidance for employers to help them upskill their employees’ AI understanding and skills.

Developed with The Alan Turing Institute and the Innovate UK BridgeAI programme, the guidance is intended to help employers boost their employees’ grasp on artificial intelligence so they can deploy it in their day-to-day roles.

The new draft guidance covers five particular areas, such as knowledge of how AI can be used effectively; the ability to carry out a range of tasks; using appropriate behaviour when working with AI; and professional values for developing a sound judgement in situations where AI could be used.

Underpinning the guidance is four personas, ranging from “AI Citizen” to “AI Leaders,” created in a bid to help employers and employees identify skills gaps and improve learning and development.

While the guidance has been published, it’s currently in a public consultation phase. The UK Government intends to work with the business community and experts to further develop the guidance before a final version is released.

Despite being a draft, the framework has still been published at an opportune time. According to a recent study from Salesforce, many UK workers say they lack the skills to use generative artificial intelligence tools safely and accurately, but are planning to embrace them or already are using them anyway.

The minister for AI, Viscount Camrose, remarked on the guidance, saying: “Making sure workers up and down the country have the skills they need for their jobs with and in AI is a key part of our strategy in making the UK an AI powerhouse and ensuring the skills of our workforce keep pace with this rapidly developing technology.

“This guidance will be vital in helping us realise that ambition, continuing an important conversation with businesses across the UK to make sure the steps they can take are practical, functional, and successful.

“Having a workforce which is equipped to work alongside AI will drive growth for businesses and allow us to realise the enormous opportunities AI presents in every sector of our economy.”

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Matt Forshaw, senior advisor for skills at The Alan Turing Institute, further added: “Businesses are increasingly interested to learn how AI could enhance their productivity and competitiveness, but they also want to ensure they have the skills and competencies to adopt these technologies safely and ethically.

“The new framework clarifies routes to workforce upskilling and will support businesses across the country to harness the value of AI. This project is underpinned by strong partnership working and we look forward to seeing the impact of this project on the current and future AI workforce.”

The guidance marks the latest act in an ongoing push by the UK Government to ensure the harnessing of the rapidly evolving technology, and just weeks after it announced that £118 million is being plugged into AI skills funding.