Lloyds Banking Group has announced an AI skills training drive for its staff.

The bank's 67,000 employees will undergo compulsory AI training as the organisation looks to become a 100 per cent AI literate workforce over the next few months.

This week, the British retail bank announced it was rolling out a range of hands-on AI learning materials through a dedicated AI Academy.

The bank said it will deliver its new AI Academy via an existing learning platform available to staff as “bite-sized content” beginning this month.

It will comprise online modules, courses, reading materials, podcasts and group-based educational activities aimed at employees of all disciplines and seniority.

There will be content suited to the different ways in which Lloyds employees might leverage AI in their roles, from those simply using the technology to the people who actually build and implement it.

To mitigate safety and ethical risks surrounding this technology, Lloyds has kicked off the AI Academy with an initial module on how to use AI at work in a responsible manner.

Through these learning materials, the bank hopes that its employees will eventually be able to start applying AI solutions to their daily workload.

It believes that the acquisition of AI skills will unlock time savings, lead to the development of better products for customers, and increase revenues across the bank.

Ron van Kemenade, chief operating officer at Lloyds Banking Group, said: “Scaling AI is about getting real use cases into production so we can simplify processes for colleagues and deliver more personalised services for customers.

“By investing in the skills of our people, we can do this responsibly and at pace, improving service today and building the foundations to scale new innovations in the future.”

Lloyds sees its AI Academy as a way of preparing its employees for a fast-changing world of work, which it says will require mostly new skills - compared to those used today - by the end of the decade.

The move comes after the World Economic Forum published research that finds technological advancements like AI will result in 60 per cent of employees having to upskill by the end of the decade if they want to continue succeeding in the workplace.

The bank hopes to do this sooner, ensuring every member of its team can use AI confidently, capably and responsibly before the year draws to a close.

Sharon Doherty, chief people and places officer at Lloyds Banking Group, added: “Upskilling our colleagues is central to how we transform. The AI Academy gives every colleague practical, hands-on tools to use AI responsibly in their day-to-day work.

“By investing in our people, we’re strengthening the skills that matter most, so our teams can deliver for customers with confidence in a workplace already supported by AI.”

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