AI Skills Boost (AI Skills Hub): free government training

How does the AI Skills Hub work?

The AI Skills Hub is a directory, not a training provider. In its own words, it is "an online directory designed to help businesses and professionals in underrepresented sectors develop AI-related skills, understand AI applications, and drive adoption within their industries", and "The Hub acts as a signposting service, with the learning material hosted on a provider's site." You enrol through the hub, then take each course on the provider's own site.

AI Skills Boost is the free training on the hub. The hub describes it like this: "AI Skills Boost is a free training offer, built by leading industry partners and backed by Skills England and the Department for Science Innovation and Technology." The government lists the partners: "The 11 industry partners involved in delivering these courses consist of Accenture, Amazon, BT, Barclays, IBM, Google, Intuit, Microsoft, SAS, Sage, and Salesforce."

Who runs the site: "This is a third party site, delivered by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) on behalf of the Innovate UK BridgeAI programme."

Is AI Skills Boost free?

Yes. Each AI Skills Boost course page on the hub says "Enrol now: No Charge". On signing up, the hub says: "The skills hub is designed to be a free and open resource for everyone who has an interest in AI and wants to develop their skills or connect with like-minded individuals."

Not everything on the wider hub is free: "Many of our resources and courses are free to access, while some specialised programs may require a fee." Some courses also ask for a free account on the provider's platform. Accenture's Digital Skills course, for example, says: "You will need to create a free 'FutureLearn' account to complete this course."

Which courses are in AI Skills Boost?

The courses were chosen to match Skills England's AI Foundation Skills for Work Framework. The hub says: "There are 8 different technology providers to choose from" and "Courses range from 20 minutes to 9 hours". The hub showed these 18 on 25 Oct 2026, before its link to a wider range of courses:

• Accenture Digital Skills: Artificial Intelligence
• Google Introduction to Generative AI
• IBM Working with AI: Foundational pathway
• Microsoft & Founderz Learn AI for Business Success
• Sage AI Basics in 30 Days
• Accenture Mastering Prompting
• Amazon Building a Generative AI-Ready Organisation
• Amazon Introduction to Generative AI: Art of the Possible
• Cisco Introduction to Modern AI
• Cognizant Prompt Engineering Foundation
• Google Gen AI: Beyond the Chatbot
• HP AI in Practice: Machine Learning and Neural Networks
• IBM AI fundamentals: Foundations for Understanding AI
• Microsoft Get Started with Agents
• Sage AI Fundamentals for Business
• Salesforce Drive AI Within Your Organisations
• Salesforce Responsible Creation of Artificial Intelligence
• SAS Responsible Innovation and Trustworthy AI

For AI agents: Microsoft Get Started with Agents.

How do you earn the AI Skills Boost badge?

Finish a course the hub marks with the badge. The hub calls it the Foundation AI Skills Boost badge: "Courses marked with a badge cover all six AI Foundation Skills for Work, giving you a solid base to build on as you become more confident in using AI." The badge image reads "Awarded by Skills England".

Not stated on the hub: how the badge is issued, or whether the hub records that you finished a course. Check for the badge mark on the course page before you start.

Who can get AI Skills Boost (AI Skills Hub)?

In the official words (official page, checked 26 Oct 2026):

• "Every adult in the UK is eligible to take free, newly benchmarked courses to gain practical AI skills for work."
• "AI Skills Boost gives people free access to complete AI training - providing practical AI skills for work. People will be able to gain a government-backed virtual AI foundations badge for completing selected training courses."
• "Open to all UK adults online, taking as little as under 20 minutes, the courses will give people the skills needed to use simple AI tools effectively in the workplace"
• "A selection of industry-developed AI courses, newly available on government’s AI Skills Hub, have been checked against Skills England’s AI foundation skills for work benchmark, with those who complete these courses receiving a virtual AI foundations badge."
• "Training is available on the revamped AI Skills Hub, a free site where users can create a learning profile and follow a tailored learning journey beyond the foundations training."

The hub itself welcomes every skill level: "The AI Skills Hub is designed for professionals of all skill levels." It is aimed at sectors where AI use has been lower: "the hub is designed for professionals, businesses, and organisations in sectors such as agriculture and food processing, construction, creative industries, and transport, logistics and warehousing." AI Skills Boost is focusing on smaller firms for now: "Right now, we're focusing on key skills for those in small and medium-sized enterprises, where AI adoption lags behind larger organisations." It plans more: "AI Skills Boost will continue to grow, offering new courses and targeted training across the workforce, including public sector-focused training launching later this year."

Beyond the government's "every adult in the UK", the hub states no eligibility rule: nothing on where you live, whether you work or your age. Signing up asks for a display name, email, password, your first and last name and a region.

Who pays: UK government with industry partners.

How do I apply?

Create a free learning profile on the AI Skills Hub (aiskillshub.org.uk).

Announced on 28 January 2026. We check the course list on the AI Skills Hub by hand each month.