New Report Highlights Urgent Workforce Skills Needs to Operationalise AI in UK Telecoms

Sponsored by CGI and conducted by Digital Catapult and Sunderland Software City, in collaboration with the Workforce Foresighting Hub—an Innovate UK initiative—the study explores how AI pipelines can be operationalised to enhance network access quality and customer experience across the UK telecoms sector.

Why Workforce Foresighting Matters

Workforce Foresighting is a strategic approach to anticipating future skills and capability needs driven by emerging technologies and national transformation goals. This report focuses on aligning the UK’s workforce with the demands of AI integration in telecoms, ensuring readiness for the rapid evolution of 5G and digital infrastructure.

Key Findings

The report identifies AI-driven network optimisation as the most impactful technology for achieving:

• Enhanced customer experience
• Reduced operational expenditure
• Improved resilience and cybersecurity
• New revenue streams
• Return on 5G investment

However, the telecoms sector faces significant capability gaps:

• Workforce Readiness: AI and data skills are not yet embedded in telecom roles.
• Education Alignment: Current apprenticeship standards fall short of emerging needs.
• Supply Chain Complexity: Collaboration across providers, manufacturers, and academia is essential.
• Pace of Change: Without swift action, the UK risks losing its competitive edge.

Future Skills and Roles

The study mapped 143 future capabilities, revealing that 19 have no match in current apprenticeship standards. Priority roles include:

• Machine Learning Engineers
• AI/ML Ops Engineers
• AI System Integration Engineers
• Generative AI Engineers
• Telecoms Engineers
• Senior Data Engineers
• IT and Cloud Engineers

These roles are vital to accelerating AI adoption and achieving the UK’s 5G strategy.

Recommended Actions

To address these gaps, the report recommends:

Immediate Actions

• Establish a working group
• Validate Future Occupational Profiles (FOPs)
• Develop CPD and modular training
• Adapt and create apprenticeship standards

Mid-Term Actions

• Integrate AI-5G specialisations into FE/HE curricula
• Promote PhD research aligned with telecom AI needs
• Include AI data governance and ethics modules

Next Steps: Telecoms Joint Cluster Action Group

In response to the report, a Telecoms Joint Cluster Action Group has been proposed. This group will coordinate efforts across cycle leads and stakeholders to:

• Streamline engagement with education bodies and policymakers
• Consolidate messaging across the sector
• Reduce engagement fatigue and maximise influence

Conclusion

This report is a call to action for industry, educators, and government. Without prompt and coordinated efforts, the UK risks falling behind in telecoms AI—jeopardising economic growth and delaying the benefits of 5G.