The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) recently announced a £7.4 million pilot scheme to subsidise the cost of AI skills training for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Professional Business Services sector. £6.4 million of grant funding is available.
Through this pilot programme, eligible businesses can apply for funding for up to 50% of the cost of AI skills training and other AI upskilling activities. This refers to training which supports employees to develop their technical skills and/or understanding of AI to be able to develop, deploy, or use AI in their role.
This pilot scheme is funded through the £37.5 million Labour Market Evaluations and Pilots fund, announced by the Chancellor at Spring Budget 2023.
Funding will be provided by DSIT in the financial year (FY) of April 2024 to March 2025. Successful applicants must be able to complete delivery of training and submit invoices for reimbursement via grant funding by February 2025.
Please note that this scheme is a pilot funded by the Labour Market Evaluations and Pilots Fund (LMEP). This fund aims to build the evidence base on the effectiveness of policies to improve labour market outcomes, including by funding novel or experimental approaches such as this one. To ensure this pilot generates robust evidence of the effectiveness of this type of skills intervention, this scheme may be evaluated based on a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) approach. In this scenario, funding will be awarded by lottery amongst applications which score above a pre-defined merit threshold. If this scheme does not adopt an RCT approach, funding will be awarded via merit-based allocation for the funding available. If you are unsuccessful in your application, we will inform you whether it was because we have adopted an RCT approach or because you did not reach the minimum merit threshold, outlined further below.
Applicants can apply for a maximum amount of funding depending on the size of their business, set out in the table below. The aim of the scheme is to subsidize the cost of AI skills training up to a ratio of 1:1. For example, a small-sized business can apply for up to £5,000 of grant funding to pay for 50% of AI skills training which costs £10,000. If the training cost £8,000, the applicant could only apply for £4,000 of grant funding.
To ensure a robust evaluation, our aim is to fund a range of businesses across the micro, small and medium-sized business categories, so we may limit the total number of businesses that can be awarded funding in each size category. The maximum amount of funding available per individual applicant will remain as stated above. If, over the course of the pilot, there are not sufficient businesses applying in one or another category, we will look to reallocate funding to the other categories.
Funding is for the delivery of AI skills training only. It is not for the cost of:
– Purchase of AI technologies
– Business advice of consulting
– Recruitment activity
– Work placement or internship salaries
– Capital expenditure
(1)
Applicants can apply for different levels of funding depending on their business size and type as defined by BEIS SME action plan: 2022 to 2025
(2).
Great Business Platforms Limited is an approved provider for this program, you can reach us at www.greatbusinessplatforms.com or email us at aao@greatbusinessplatforms.com. If you wish to apply for this grant click on the government portal below
https://find-government-grants.service.gov.uk/grants/flexible-ai-upskilling-fund-pilot-1#apply