14/07/2025
Help us map the AI landscape! The IEP’s AI Working Group is gathering real data on how our sector is using AI. Share your experience in our 2-minute survey – your insights will shape our industry’s future.
The theme of the IEP Summit 2025 was all things AI and how it is changing the employability landscape. Thanks to our friends at CHAOS Digital, you can catch up on our IEP Summiteers’ insightful takes on AI in the sector.
In the last edition, we shared Summit AI insights from our keynote speakers. This time we delve into how industry leaders are approaching AI adoption, the challenges they’re facing, and the opportunities they see ahead.
Strategic Perspectives on AI in Employment Services
Kevin Browne FIEP, CEO Emerging Markets at Asuria, emphasised the importance of workforce development in an AI-driven landscape:
“How can we continue to invest in, professionalise the people that we work with? I think that’s what’s most important. We’re no different to the global market. You know, people are challenged with skill shortages, talent development, automation of AI and in the public sector model that we work with. It’s the devolution of contracts to government and it’s how we respond to that in a positive way, how we make sure that we become the choice of government for the services that help people get back to work and how we work and collaborate together. Because you can only be successful in our sector if you collaborate and you bring the best innovation and ideas to the market.”
Sues Duncan FIEP, Senior Consultant at Be Astute Ltd, highlighted the strategic challenges facing the sector:
“People in our industry are talking very big brain things, and you can just get a lot out of listening to knowledge leaders. AI today, right? There’s a lot of challenges in this sector around that and what that looks like. How do we have strategic intent as a sector around embracing the opportunities of AI? But there’s also lots of other challenges in our sector at the moment. We do have issues with recruitment and retention, we have massive issues with understanding about what commission is going to look like going forward and people talking and sharing their understanding of what’s going on and what they’re doing and who they are talking to – it’s all very beneficial.”
AI as a Participant Support Tool
Kathryn Jellings FIEP, Director of 3SC (Twin Group), shared her vision for AI in ongoing participant support:
“I’m particularly interested in AI pieces that support our participants. So not everybody can stay on a program forever and often participants finish on programme and then I feel that sometimes there’s no support. That’s due to the way the programs are designed and the way funding mechanisms work. But actually we can use that AI piece as a mentor or a critical friend or a decision-making process to help people, and I think that’s really valuable.”
Practical Implementation Insights
David Imber FIEP, Head of the Centre for Employability Excellence (CFEE), offered a practical perspective on AI adoption:
“A key lesson is that artificial intelligence is a tool, and you can’t use hammers when chisels are needed – so take your tools and use them wisely and skilfully.”
Andy Bowie FIEP, Director of Employability, Skills & Training at Serco, reflected on the day’s discussions and current implementation challenges:
“Quite an interesting keynote speech from the gent, Kevin Green – ‘Interview’s don’t work’. The main topic that flowed throughout the day was AI: where we’re doing quite a lot with AI, or we are trying to, and everything that everybody shared resonated quite well. What is AI? How do we use AI? how do we help our staff embed AI? We’ve embedded some, but how can we help staff more?”
IEP AI Working Group
What AI are you using? The IEP’s AI Working Group want to build a picture of how AI is being used currently in the sector. Please fill out our quick survey here – it will take just 2 minutes.