Barnsley secures funding for practical workplace AI training

Four training projects in Barnsley will share more than £800,000 from the government’s AI Upskilling Challenge Fund to bring practical AI skills into workplaces and communities. The funding targets underserved groups, with training designed around local employers’ needs, career progression and responsible adoption.

Barnsley College will take mobile training units to hospital and social care staff and the wider community, offering introductory sessions that build confidence. Atheni will support 140 people across six manufacturing, engineering and construction firms, using AI tailored to company documents and trade requirements to help with quotes, tenders and safety paperwork.

Fossu, operating as Ignite AI, will work with community and business partners to deliver challenge-led programmes and buildathons for 100 residents, including women returning to employment and young people. Participants will tackle problems facing local businesses and communities. Optimise Cyber Solutions and Abbeydale Training will help twenty small businesses move from basic awareness to safe workplace implementation, while supporting the development of female AI leaders.

The projects form part of Barnsley’s Tech Town initiative, which brings central and local government together with employers, education providers and the NHS. Successful approaches could inform a nationwide rollout. Separately, the government’s AI Skills Boost initiative aims to equip 10 million UK workers with key AI skills by 2030.