Training workers to use artificial intelligence will be “critical” to managing disruption in the UK labour market, according to Andrew Bailey, who said there were already signs that AI was reshaping careers and hiring patterns.
Speaking at a conference in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, Bailey said the long-term impact of AI on employment remained “highly uncertain”, but warned that early indicators pointed to meaningful change.
“In the UK, in the last three years, new online vacancies in the most AI-exposed roles have decreased by more than twice as much as in the least exposed group,” he said.
“On the positive side, however, there has been a significant increase in new tasks, such as integrating AI tools into firms’ workflow processes.”
Bailey cautioned against drawing simplistic conclusions about the effect of AI on jobs, stressing that education and reskilling would be central to ensuring workers were not left behind. “Education and training in AI skills will be critical,” he said. “We shouldn’t resort to oversimplified conclusions on the employment effects.”
His comments came at the end of a volatile week for global markets, during which renewed anxiety over artificial intelligence wiped more than $1 trillion off the combined value of the world’s largest technology and software companies.
Investor nerves were rattled in part by new product launches from Anthropic, one of the world’s leading AI developers. The company unveiled tools aimed at automating legal work such as contract review, alongside its latest Claude Opus 4.6 model, which is capable of analysing complex information and producing presentations and spreadsheets.
The developments fuelled fears about job displacement and business model disruption, triggering sharp share price falls among UK-listed companies seen as highly exposed to AI. These included RELX, London Stock Exchange Group, and Sage.
At the same time, concerns grew that enthusiasm for AI may have run ahead of reality in the US technology sector. Amazon, Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft have collectively committed to spending around $660 billion this year on data centres and advanced computer chips to support AI development.
Fears that such vast capital investment may not deliver sufficient returns have weighed on share prices, adding to wider market turbulence. The pullback follows years of strong gains in US technology stocks, driven by investor optimism about AI-led productivity gains, optimism that has also raised concerns about a potential bubble.
Bailey said there were signs of “fear of missing out” in markets, reinforced by claims that AI represents a structural break from previous technology cycles. “We have seen arguments along the lines of ‘this time is different’, for instance because of the expected productivity benefits of AI,” he said.
He warned that this narrative risked complacency among investors and policymakers alike. “Expectations of AI-driven productivity gains could be disappointed,” he said.
Despite the caution, Bailey struck a broadly optimistic note on the long-term economic potential of AI and robotics. He said he believed the technologies could boost productivity and growth by automating repetitive tasks and creating entirely new types of work.
However, he added that the transition would not be painless. “Some industries might shrink, others grow, and affected workers will need to retrain to adapt their skills,” he said, underlining once again that investment in training would be decisive in shaping the future of the UK jobs market.
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Andrew Bailey warns AI training is critical to future of UK jobs