Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan during London Tech Week in June
The mayor of London has announced £18m to help young Londoners into work and training, as part of plans to prepare the capital for artificial intelligence.
Sadiq Khan accepted recommendations from his AI and Jobs Taskforce, including an early-warning system to spot AI-driven job changes and a scheme pairing young Londoners with employers.
In June, London employers warned that firms across the capital are struggling to find the skills they need as artificial intelligence reshapes the job market.
The taskforce, chaired by Baroness Martha Lane-Fox, concluded that London should shape the AI change rather than wait for disruption.
AI can increasingly carry out routine, administrative and text-heavy tasks, changing what jobs involve and the skills employers want.
A BusinessLDN survey of more than 2,000 business leaders found that half their existing workforce had the skills their business needed, down from 63% a year earlier. More than three-quarters expected a significant need for AI and advanced digital skills over the next five years, up from 66% in 2025.
The committee, which includes firms such as Microsoft, Lloyds Bank, NatWest, Sky and Linklaters, asked City Hall to create a pan-London careers and skills service, set up a real-time dashboard tracking AI's impact on jobs, and allow employers to help design training. It also urges the government to reform the growth and skills levy and expand adult-learning funding.
Muniya Barua, deputy chief executive of BusinessLDN, said London was "at the sharp end of the AI revolution", creating "a huge opportunity, but also a responsibility to ensure Londoners are equipped with the skills they need".
The plan was submitted to the mayor's AI and Jobs Taskforce, whose recommendations Sir Sadiq Khan has now accepted.
Khan agreed to take forward three measures: an early-warning system to spot AI-driven job changes before they become a crisis, a partnership bringing employers, workers and educators together to redesign jobs rather than simply automate them, and a scheme pairing young Londoners with employers to shape future careers.
