The launch of a new AI Growth Zone aims to transform local communities through thousands of new jobs, major private investment and expanded skills training, as Artificial Intelligence is put at the heart of the UK’s economic growth strategy.
A new AI Growth Zone in Lanarkshire will create more than 3,400 jobs, deliver apprenticeships and unlock billions in investment, the UK government looks to use Artificial intelligence to boost skills, growth and local communities.
Hardworking people in Lanarkshire will have access to the skills and opportunities they need to chase the jobs of the future, as AI is put to work to transform communities and livelihoods.
Delivered by home-grown data centre company DataVita around its data centre site in Airdrie – and in partnership with AI cloud firm CoreWeave – the Lanarkshire AI Growth Zone announced by the Technology Secretary will bring more than 3,400 jobs over the coming years, including delivering 50 apprenticeships to nurture the next generation of Scottish AI expertise.
Of these jobs, around 800 are expected to focus on the high-paying AI jobs of the future, including roles ranging from AI researchers and coders through to permanent staff who will run and maintain data centres. The rest will be made up of immediate construction jobs, as attention turns to building out the entire site, including data centres, supporting infrastructure and a renewables park.
Alongside £8.2 billion in private investment that will drive economic renewal in the local area, a new community fund will inject up to £543 million into support for a range of local programmes over the next 15 years. The money will come as a direct result of the work carried out at the site, being raised as data centre capacity comes online.
From skills and training packages that will give people the tools they need for jobs in and working with AI, through to after-school coding clubs and support for local charities and foodbanks – this is how the government is ensuring AI is delivering frontline support and opportunity for communities and playing an active role in bringing down the cost of living.
AI Growth Zones are just one of the many commitments the government has delivered one year on from the publication of the AI Opportunities Action Plan. In total, the government has met 38 of its 50 commitments, with the public able to track progress in detail via a newly published interactive dashboard.
In the past 12 months, the government has laid the foundations for long-term success, increased its AI computing power tenfold and launched a major skills drive which has already seen more than one million free AI courses delivered.
Practical benefits are already being delivered – a third of chest X-rays in the NHS are AI-enabled, while AI is also helping the government function more efficiently by reducing the time taken to identify fraud by 80%. Meanwhile, Extract, the government-backed tool to digitise planning, is expected to be made available to all councils by spring 2026, with a target to digitise all planning documents by the end of 2026. AI tutoring tools to narrow the attainment gap will also be co-developed this summer and begin trials at the start of the next academic year.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “Getting on in life should not mean travelling miles from your community for work while struggling to pay the bills at home.
“By bringing billions of pounds of investment into Lanarkshire, we are creating good, well-paid jobs and funding support that directly helps families with the cost of living.
“With strong progress made on our AI Opportunities Action Plan over the past year, now is the time to put our foot on the accelerator and ensure working people feel the benefits in every corner of the UK.”
Scotland Office Minister Kirsty McNeill said: “North Lanarkshire’s proud industrial heritage helped power Britain through the last century – from coal and steel to manufacturing. Today, we’re writing the next chapter, as this community becomes home to an advanced AI site.
“This is the UK government’s economic growth in action. Scotland’s AI Growth Zone, backed by £5 million of UK government investment, will create more than 3,400 jobs and attract billions in investment. With five AI Growth Zones now across the UK, we are cementing our position as Europe’s leading tech sector.”
CoreWeave will be one of the key backers of the site, rolling out cutting-edge NVIDIA GPU chips so researchers and innovators can power their work. This deployment will be part of the £2.5 billion investment the company has made in AI projects in the UK.
It joins a group of five AI Growth Zones announced in the 12 months since the launch of the AI Opportunities Action Plan, alongside Oxfordshire, North and South Wales and the North East of England. In total, AI Growth Zone announcements over the past year have been supported by commitments to add up to 15,000 jobs for local communities and at least £28.2 billion in private investment.
Matthew Baynes, VP, Secure Power and Data Centres, Schneider Electric, UK and Ireland, said: “In the twelve months since the introduction of the AI Opportunities Action Plan, the UK has made significant progress towards its AI ambitions.
“The new AI Growth Zone announced in Lanarkshire demonstrates just how far the country has come in its plans to build a sovereign AI nation, with Scotland becoming a critical new infrastructure hub alongside those in Wales, Oxfordshire and the North East of England.
“Furthermore, the country has now secured more than £31 billion in investment from some of the world’s largest technology companies, demonstrating that the UK has the people, resources and ambition to make AI a centrepiece of a new and revitalised Industrial Strategy.
“While this can be considered a success in many respects, there is still much work to do. Access to renewable power remains one of the biggest hurdles facing many parts of the country and as the UK’s energy technology partner for data centres and AI infrastructure, we believe there is a clear opportunity to catalyse both the AI and green transitions by turning data centres into the energy centres of the future – fast-tracking new developments with behind-the-meter power generation and microgrids.
“Now, the UK’s sustainability and AI ambitions must work together hand in glove, demonstrating that today’s technology can be a catalyst for a greener future, powered by AI.”
