Unlocking digital growth for the public sector
INDUSTRY GOV. TECH
Latest AI Growth Zone to deliver 3,400 jobs and cost of living support for local communities
Alongside £ 8.2 billion in private investment that will drive economic renewal in the local area, a new community fund will inject up to £ 543 million into support for a range of local programmes over the next 15 years. The money will come as a direct result of the work carried out at the site, being raised as data centre capacity comes online.
From skills and training packages that will give people the tools they need for jobs in and working with AI, through to after-school coding clubs and support for local charities and foodbanks – this is how the government is ensuring AI is delivering frontline support and opportunity for communities and playing an active role in bringing down the cost of living.
AI Growth Zones are just one of the many commitments the government has delivered one year on from the publication of the AI Opportunities Action Plan. In total, the government has met 38 of its 50 commitments, with the public able to track progress in detail via a newly published interactive dashboard.
In the past 12 months, the government has laid the foundations for long-term success, increased its AI computing power tenfold and launched a major skills drive which has already seen more than one million free AI courses delivered.
A new AI Growth Zone in Lanarkshire in the UK will create more than 3,400 jobs, deliver apprenticeships and unlock billions in investment. The UK government looks to use Artificial intelligence to boost skills, growth and local communities.
Hardworking people in Lanarkshire will have access to the skills and opportunities they need to chase the jobs of the future, as AI is put to work to transform communities and livelihoods.
Delivered by home-grown data centre company, DataVita, around its data centre site in Airdrie – and in partnership with AI cloud firm, CoreWeave, – the Lanarkshire AI Growth Zone announced by the Technology Secretary will bring more than 3,400 jobs over the coming years, including delivering 50 apprenticeships to nurture the next generation of Scottish AI expertise.
Of these jobs, around 800 are expected to focus on the highpaying AI jobs of the future, including roles ranging from AI researchers and coders through to permanent staff who will run and maintain data centres. The rest will be made up of immediate construction jobs, as attention turns to building out the entire site, including data centres, supporting infrastructure and a renewables park.
Practical benefits are already being delivered – a third of chest x-rays in the NHS are AI-enabled, while AI is also helping the
In the past 12 months, the government has laid the foundations for long-term success, increased its AI computing power tenfold and launched a major skills drive which has already seen more than one million free AI courses delivered.
government function more efficiently by reducing the time taken to identify fraud by 80 %. Meanwhile, Extract, the government-backed tool to digitise planning, is expected to be made available to all councils by spring 2026, with a target to digitise all planning documents by the end of 2026. AI tutoring tools to narrow the attainment gap will also be codeveloped this summer and begin trials at the start of the next academic year. •
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