The UK government has named consultancy Cognizant as a strategic industry partner for its TechFirst programme. The firm joins a number of blue-chip organisations on the list, including technology and consulting giant IBM.
Launched in 2025, TechFirst is a £187 million initiative, aimed at bringing digital skills and AI learning into classrooms and communities across the UK. Looking to train people of all ages and backgrounds for future tech careers, it was announced following research from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), which claimed that by 2035, around 10 million workers would be in roles where AI will be part of their role or responsibilities in some form – with a further 3.9 million in roles directly in AI.
Cognizant joins as a strategic industry partner to the government’s programme. Over the next four years, this will see it work with DSIT to drive the skills that will contribute to the government’s ambition to support over 4,000 graduates, researchers and innovators.
“As an AI builder and longstanding technology leader that has been helping organisations across the UK to navigate technological change and large-scale transformation, we see an increasingly urgent reality: technology continues to accelerate, but the talent to harness it is lagging. That’s why we’re proud to support the government’s TechFirst initiative and help build the next generation of tech talent,” said Rohit Gupta, managing director for Cognizant in the UK and Ireland.
According to a release from the firm, Cognizant now “aims to provide 100 work placements to undergraduate and master’s students”. The placements are anticipated to deliver practical, hands-on experiences of the tech sector to help build future entrepreneurs and innovators, as well as practitioners and researchers – aligning the placements ” with DSIT’s six ‘frontier industries’, outlined in the government’s UK industrial strategy.
New targets
The news follows Cognizant’s announcement that it will expand its own Synapse skilling initiative in response to demand for AI skills – which will now aim at a new target to upskill two million people globally by 2030. Building on that, Cognizant also aims to support 1,000 volunteering hours to inspire and mentor the next generation of tech talent across UK schools and colleges to help them enter the domestic pipeline.
Gupta added, “Our recent research has identified that 93% of jobs could already be disrupted by AI today, creating a transformed environment for the future workforce to enter. Structured support from the tech sector and government is crucial to developing the skills required to thrive in this new world of work.”
The government also announced a number of other related companies, who will serve as strategic industry partners to TechFirst. Alongside Cognizant, these include chips-producer NVIDIA, Google, Microsoft, BT, Amazon, and consulting and IT business IBM – which will support the programme to boost skills throughout the UK economy.
The TechFirst programme is a multi-strand initiative involving various industry, academic, and sector partners.
Science and Technology Secretary, Liz Kendall, concluded, “I am committed to creating a tech sector that is open to all – and that’s why programmes like TechFirst are so important. From inspiring children in the classroom, to supporting innovators in the tech firms of tomorrow, our TechFirst programme is all about creating great tech opportunities for people across the UK. I’m delighted to welcome Cognizant on board as our industry partner and look forward to working together to help more people access careers in tech.”
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