HMRC scales AI training nationwide

HM Revenue & Customs has stepped up its internal AI training programme, with 25,549 employees completing Microsoft 365 Copilot training as the department widens digital skills development across the organisation.

Official figures for 2024-25 show that more than 80,000 digital, data, and technology courses were completed through HMRC’s Digital Academy, with more than 11,000 of those focused on AI. Data obtained by software platform Acting Office through the Freedom of Information Act also showed that 13.2% of HMRC’s 66,000 employees had completed its One Big Thing AI learning module.

Since launching in 2023, HMRC’s Digital Academy has been used to train staff across field operations, senior roles, and back-office teams for what the department has described as an ‘AI-enabled future’. Alongside that work, HMRC said it is running internal upskilling programmes for all staff, including boot camps, accelerators, and Associate Data Engineering programmes.

It also stated that around 80 employees were studying and completing practical coursework through AI and Data Science degree apprenticeships, adding a longer-term skills pipeline to the department’s broader training push.

Kenny MacAulay, CEO of Acting Office, said: “The sooner HMRC catches up with the AI, the better. Accountancy firms across the country remain like a rabbit in the headlights with this technology, with many bungling implementations or avoiding the inevitable altogether. AI is here to stay, and forward-thinking organisations need a complete rethink about how they use it to deliver value, not just automating simple tasks, but overhauling entire workflows. Firms that treat AI as a bolt-on will be left behind.”

As large employers continue to work out how AI should sit inside everyday operations, HMRC’s latest figures show that the emphasis is moving beyond pilot projects and towards structured training at scale. For public bodies, where legacy systems, operational complexity, and compliance demands often shape the pace of change, workforce capability is likely to be as important as the tools themselves.

Sheila Flavell CBE, COO of FDM Group, said: “As AI adoption accelerates across industries, organisations must ensure their workforce has the skills to work effectively alongside these technologies. Our research highlights that over half (54 percent) of organisations now say AI skills will be required in all early-career roles.”

That demand is already feeding into graduate expectations and employer training plans, particularly as organisations try to move from experimentation to routine use.

Flavell added: “AI is not a replacement for human expertise, it amplifies it, but only when employees are equipped with the skills to apply these tools effectively. For graduates, that means building practical, applied AI skills from day one. For organisations, it means embedding AI training and upskilling current staff, in order to future-proof the workforce.”