UK firms aim for growth through AI investment but lack of talent is a concern

UK companies are pinning their hopes for growth on AI along with team training, according to Lloyds Banking Group’s latest Business Barometer.

With new growth opportunities emerging, the survey of 1,200 firms found 35% plan to invest in team training this year, while a third said they would focus on AI tools.

Other top priorities for 2026 are boosting productivity, cited by 42%, followed by upskilling teams at 39%, and strengthening technological capabilities at 37%.

In terms of operational and investment priorities, technology and productivity were both cited by 35% of respondents as areas where they will need more support to achieve their goals for next year. This was followed by upskilling at 31% and expanding global reach at 25%.

"These are investment priorities that will support businesses’ long-term growth, helping them capitalize on new opportunities that arise in the year ahead, but also build a firm foundation well beyond 2026," said Paul Kempster, managing director for commercial banking coverage at Lloyds Business and Commercial Banking.

Previous research from Lloyds Business Barometer has found that 82% of UK firms using AI reported increased productivity, while just over three-quarters reported an improvement in profitability. Retailers saw the biggest boost to their productivity, while manufacturers saw the biggest improvement in profits.

However, barriers included the cost of the technology, a lack of AI-specific skills and concerns over data privacy and energy consumption.

For those organizations focusing on training, the latest Business Barometer found, the main aims were improving productivity and strengthening digital skills.

The skills shortage also shows no signs of abating, with recent research from business communications provider Esendex finding that there were around 11,365 active vacancies for automation and AI roles across a wide range of UK sectors last summer, with AI representing 69% and automation making up the remaining 31%. Two of the most in-demand roles were data engineer and python engineer in AI.

The good news for employees is this is boosting salaries. Recent figures from Stack Overflow show that AI and machine learning engineers in the UK are now pulling in a median salary of £112,000, while engineering manager pay stands at around £102,000.

Back-end developers earn a median salary of £81,000, 6.5% up on last year's £76,000; product managers saw the biggest rise at 29.3%, followed by game developers and front-end devs.

The government is well aware of the skills shortage, announcing plans last summer to invest £187 million to give young people and workers across the UK access to AI training schemes.

By 2030, it said, 7.5 million UK workers will be able to gain essential AI skills, through industry partnerships with the likes of NVIDIA, Google and Microsoft.

The TechFirst scheme will also support more than 4,000 graduates, researchers, and innovators, through undergraduate scholarships in areas like AI, cyber security, and computer science, funding for 500 domestic PhD students conducting research in tech and seed funding to help regional innovators and small businesses develop new tech products and adopt AI.