UK Government launches £187 million TechFirst skills initiative

The UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has launched TechFirst, a £187 million initiative aimed at preparing one million young people for careers in frontier technologies. The programme focuses on six key sectors: cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, engineering biology, semiconductors, and advanced connectivity technologies.

Key partners are providing specialized support to the programme. The Raspberry Pi Foundation is expanding its free Ada Computer Science platform, developed with the University of Cambridge, to cover students aged 11 to 19. Additionally, QinetiQ will support the initiative by hosting summer placements, delivering work experience for 300 students, and expanding the Cyber Advanced course to reach over 900 teenagers by 2029.