A first-of-its-kind artificial intelligence summer bootcamp has launched in the north-west of England, aiming to prevent young people from falling into unemployment by equipping them with in-demand digital and workplace skills.
The government-backed initiative, named the TechFirst AI Apprenticeship Pathway, brings together industry partners and public sector organisations to offer 16- to 21-year-olds an intensive three-week training programme. Recruits from communities including Wigan, Blackburn, Blackpool, and surrounding towns have already begun their training, with up to 70 participants set to take part in the pilot scheme.
The programme is designed to stem the flow of young people into joblessness, particularly those who are out of work or at risk of becoming unemployed after finishing school. It builds on the Prime Minister’s wider mission to raise the profile of technical education and create career opportunities in every postcode.
Delivered on the ground by the IN4 Group, the bootcamp teaches participants how to build AI tools, understand how businesses integrate AI into their operations, and use the technology responsibly alongside human oversight. Trainees will also learn to generate draft guides and documentation using AI, while developing core workplace competencies such as professional communication, teamwork, timekeeping, problem-solving, and performing under pressure.
Beyond the classroom, the scheme offers a tangible pathway into employment. At the end of the programme, businesses and public sector organisations across the north-west—including major employers like JD Sports and Heinz, as well as local SMEs—will have apprenticeships on offer for successful recruits.
The pilot is part of a broader push to ensure young people have clear routes into skilled work. It follows recent commitments from the National Grid, which pledged £5 million per year through its Power Within Employability Fund to help 5,000 young people into employment.
By trialling what organisers describe as the best way to make AI training and career development work for today’s youth, the north-west bootcamp could serve as a blueprint for similar schemes nationwide. For now, its immediate goal is clear: to give a generation of young people the tools they need to thrive in an increasingly AI-driven economy—and keep them off the unemployment roll.
A previous participant in the programme, Ella, 16, from Wigan said: ‘I have lived in Wigan my whole life. Throughout my primary school years, we were told high school was going to be a massive change, and teachers would make it out to be an intimidating place to go.
‘High school was a change, but nothing like how we were told it would be. Progressing through high school wasn’t easy, but by the final two years the same cycle repeated. We were told that college was harder, more intense, bigger workloads.
‘However, the idea of going into an apprenticeship wasn’t something regularly touched on. It’s like a standard expectation that every student goes to college, even if it doesn’t suit their way of learning.
‘I’d like to say I’m a keen individual with high aspirations to achieve, and for me personally I find the academics of the education system really challenging.
‘It’s difficult for me to process things that need to be wrote down over and over again, and find a structure to set work out through. This caused me to dwell on certain lessons such as English, due to the excessive writing- despite genuinely enjoying the subject.
‘I think opportunities such as this TechFirst AI course are worth putting more focus on. Especially considering how much more difficult it is to get a job now, most places want their staff to have experience, and coming out of high-school/college you don’t have that.’
Photo: Szabo Viktor
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