Lloyds Banking Group wants to train every employee in AI by the end of this year – here's how it plans to do it

Lloyds Banking Group has announced plans to train every employee in AI skills in a bid to streamline adoption of the technology across operations.

The bank’s new AI Academy, launched this week, aims to provide “practical AI skills” for 67,000 staff “no matter their role or level”.

As part of the scheme, employees will gain access to interactive modules, podcasts, articles, short courses, and additional opportunities for community-based learning.

“Learning is tailored to the different ways colleagues use AI from AI Users to AI Leaders, Builders and Enablers,” Lloyds said in a statement.

“To begin, all 67,000 colleagues will complete a short module on Working with AI Responsibly, ensuring safe and ethical use aligned with Group standards.”

Ron van Kemenade, chief operating officer at Lloyds Banking Group, said the skills program will help prepare staff for AI adoption across the organization, ultimately streamlining the roll-out of the technology.

“Scaling AI is about getting real use-cases into production so we can simplify processes for colleagues and deliver more personalized services for customers,” he said.

“By investing in the skills of our people, we can do this responsibly and at pace, improving service today and building the foundations to scale new innovations in the future.”

Lloyds targets complete skills overhaul

Lloyds anticipates a wholesale transformation of skills across the organization in the coming years, noting that by 2030 “most of the skills used today will have evolved”.

The financial services giant said it projects around 60% of the workforce will need to reskill as a result of AI integration, yet literacy in this area is lacking.

Lloyds said it aims to upskill 100% of colleagues by the end of 2026 alone – a bold target, but one which it said will help deliver marked benefits both for customers and employees alike.

“Upskilling our colleagues is central to how we transform. The AI Academy gives every colleague practical, hands-on tools to use AI responsibly in their day-to-day work,” said Sharon Doherty, chief people and places officer.

“By investing in our people, we’re strengthening the skills that matter most, so our teams can deliver for customers with confidence in a workplace already supported by AI.”

Lloyds has long-running experience with machine learning and AI innovation, having first implemented an ML-powered savings tool for customers in 2021.

Last year, the company put 50 generative AI use-cases into full production, ramping up adoption of the technology across core operations, while unveiling plans to deploy an agentic AI-based financial assistant for over 20 million customers.

Responsible AI

A key focus for the bank lies in responsible and ethical development. In 2022, it became the first in the UK to hire a dedicated responsible AI lead, for example, and its Responsible AI programme helps guide internal development of the technology.

All told, the bank has seven core AI ethics principles. These are implemented through a range of overlapping schemes, frameworks, and teams, including:

• The Lloyds AI Assurance Framework
• A dedicated Data & AI Ethics Committee (DAIEC)
• The Lloyds Risk Mitigation Template
• A “central repository” of AI risk guardrails that staff must adhere to

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