Mind the £400 Billion Gap!
Why the UK’s AI Skills Shortage Is About More Than Just Learning to Prompt
If you’ve read the UK Government’s latest announcement promising “help for UK businesses to fill the £400 billion AI skills gap”, you might be forgiven for rolling your eyes, we’ve seen this movie before.
This time, Skills England is leading the charge, unveiling an AI Skills Framework, an Employer Adoption Checklist, and a Pathway Model to help businesses “unlock £400 billion of value by 2030”. Big number. Big ambition. But as ever, the real challenge isn’t about tools, it’s about transformation.
Here’s the good, the bad, and the bots-for-that version of what it means for accounting firms.
The Good
At last, government language recognises that AI skills aren’t just for coders. The report points out that non-technical professionals, like accountants, auditors, and advisors, need AI literacy, ethical awareness, and confidence to interpret AI outputs. That’s refreshing and long overdue.
The inclusion of SMEs is also critical. Most accounting firms are small or mid-sized, and the ability to tap into practical frameworks, not just grand policy statements, could genuinely help firms build confidence around AI adoption.
The Gaps
But while the rhetoric is familiarly shiny, the details are smudged. The headline number of £400 billion for instance, lacks some transparency. The new “tools” are well-intentioned, but risk becoming tick-box exercises rather than engines of change.
What’s missing is the reality that skills are only half the story. The other half is change management: helping teams navigate uncertainty, redesign processes and future job descriptions, and build trust in what AI delivers. No checklist can fix a culture that punishes experimentation or rewards the status quo.
And for all the talk of “AI literacy”, there’s little mention of how SMEs, or accounting firms juggling client work, deadlines, and resource constraints, are meant to find the time, funding, or headspace to upskill. Without a meaningful budget or sector-specific support, the “AI upskilling revolution” risks being another government PowerPoint slide.
What Firms Should Actually Do
Start small, learn fast. Pick one process to automate. Document it. Measure time saved – and don’t measure whether it worked in exactly the same way as old Derek who’s been in the firm since before it was registered.
Invest in culture, not just tools. Create internal AI champions, run “lunch and learn” sessions, reward curiosity.
Stay client-centric. AI is only valuable if it helps you deliver faster, better, or smarter outcomes for clients.
Don’t wait for government. Build your own skills roadmap using practical frameworks, or partner with firms who’ve done it before.
At Bots For That, we’re working with firms who see AI not as a threat, but as an advantage multiplier. The difference isn’t in their tech, it’s in their mindset. They treat AI adoption like they would any other major shift: with planning, experimentation, and human leadership.
Because let’s face it, the £400 billion gap isn’t really about skills. It’s about courage.
Read more about the £400 billion gap in this article here
