Nottingham City Council has enrolled 40 staff onto a new AI Academy as part of an ambitious improvement plan for the city.
The staff will be upskilled on programmes funded primarily by an apprenticeship levy transfer from Capital One and through training from unicorn Multiverse. Car rental agency Enterprise has also contributed support.
This news comes just two weeks after a similar initiative was launched by Essex County Council.
The academy includes staff from major areas of the council, from public health to public transport, and children’s services to neighbourhood safety.
Training is set to equip employees with practical, applied AI skills, enabling them to reduce manual work, enhance decision-making and unlock innovation in their day-to-day roles.
Multiverse, co-founded by Euan Blair, has trained more than 20,000 apprentices in AI, data and digital skills since 2016 and has been a longstanding training partner for the council.
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The new cohort has enrolled on the 13-month AI for Business Value programme, a Level 4 apprenticeship, helping to train staff to identify business value gains that can be achieved through using AI, as well as how to execute ethical AI projects for the benefit of local people.
“This expanded Data and AI Academy allows us to combine data insights with AI capabilities, putting us in a strong position to deliver on our improvement plan,” said Sajeeda Rose, chief executive of Nottingham City Council.
“We’re striving to be a council that works more effectively and efficiently for the people of Nottingham, and the skills acquired through our partnership with Multiverse will help us to achieve this goal.”
Gary Eimerman, chief learning officer at Multiverse, added: “Building on nearly four years of Multiverse training, Nottingham City Council’s latest cohort is taking the next step in digital skills development: AI literacy.
“These are key credentials that will further empower the council to deliver tangible benefits to their residents, from community services to transportation, while enriching the careers of their teams.”