28 May 2025
A new FutureDotNow report shows digital and AI skills almost double jobseekers’ chances of getting a job.
FutureDotNow has today launched a new report demonstrating that embedding essential digital and AI skills into employability programmes can almost double jobseekers’ chances of entering work, while delivering a highly replicable model that strengthens existing provision rather than creating new systems.
The report, ‘How to be work-read in the age of AI: A replicable model for digitally upskilling jobseekers’, sets out findings from a rapid proof of concept delivered in partnership with Cosmic and Accenture, and funded by the Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund.
Working with Restart Scheme participants in the South-West, the proof-of-concept explored whether targeted enhancements to current employability programmes could boost job readiness in a labour market where digital capability is now a baseline requirement.
The results were striking.
Jobseekers who were supported to build the essential digital and AI skills needed for work were twice as likely to enter employment as those on standard provision, and they secured roles more quickly. 26% moved into work within four months, compared to 14% on the standard Restart Scheme.
Beyond employment outcomes, the programme delivered a material mindset shift.
Participants moved from low confidence and digital dependence to greater independence, experimentation and motivation. Many reported increased confidence using unfamiliar technologies, a stronger understanding of how digital skills support employment, and new enthusiasm to apply AI tools to real work tasks.
A stark mismatch between employer expectations and jobseeker capability.
The report also highlights that only a third of jobseekers can currently complete all the essential digital work tasks required in today’s jobs, and yet many employers assume these skills are already in place and are not actively assessing nor training for them.
Change does not require wholesale reform.
Crucially, the programme strengthened existing employability provision in a way that is highly replicable. It built on the existing Restart Scheme, embedding the existing AI‑embedded Essential Digital Skills Framework, offering tutor‑led support, using AI to spark curiosity, and recognising progress through digital badges.
Julie Hawker MBE, Chief Executive at Cosmic said:
“This pilot has demonstrated powerfully that digital and AI skills move people from dependence to independence, avoidance to experimentation, and exclusion risk to a job outcome. It’s a blueprint to make future employability programmes relevant for the modern workforce.”
Judith Jackson-Merrick, Managing Director at Accenture said:
“The bar for entry-level work is set. Digital confidence on day one is non-negotiable — yet two thirds of jobseekers can’t clear it. This needs a response at national scale. We need clearly defined roles and responsibilities between government, local authority, industry and not for profit to drive systemic changes in the digital upskilling agenda for those not in work.”
Holly Chate, Chief Operating Officer at FutureDotNow, said:
“This proof of concept shows what is possible when we stop treating digital skills as an optional extra. By embedding essential digital and AI skills into programmes that already exist, we can remove a critical barrier to employment, at pace and at scale. The impact on confidence, capability and job outcomes is transformative, and it is exactly the kind of practical, evidence‑led change the system needs right now.”
The recommendation is clear: Embed essential digital and AI skills into every employability programme.
The findings offer powerful insight for policymakers, commissioners and delivery organisations looking to improve employment outcomes, reduce digital exclusion and ensure people are work‑ready for an AI‑enabled labour market.
