The Hg Foundation and JPMorganChase announce launch of the AI & Economic Opportunity Fund to help young people without degrees into tech

The AI boom is creating new, well-paid careers in tech, but young people need more routes in to make the most of them, according to a major new report.

The Tech Labour Market Briefing, published today by The Hg Foundation with support from JPMorganChase, draws on analysis by labour market data specialists Lightcast and PF Global of more than 70 million UK online job adverts posted between January 2019 and June 2026. It is the first in a regular series, tracking how AI is reshaping routes into tech. The research directly informs a new fund to support the most promising programmes that are preparing low-income young people without degrees to enter tech jobs and apprenticeships, through employer insights, structured training and work experience.

• Tech remains a strong route to well-paid work. The average advertised tech salary is around 60% above the UK average, and hiring is stabilising after a post-pandemic fall.

• AI is creating new roles, but with fewer entry points. AI Engineer job ads rose 42% in the past year, but most specialist AI roles are aimed at experienced workers. AI skills are instead spreading into everyday tech jobs, including at entry level.

• Non-degree routes show real promise. Almost half (49%) of entry-level tech roles that state an education requirement are open to people without a degree, and the number of these roles grew 7% in the past year, after previous steep declines.

• Employers want a blend of skills. Almost nine in ten tech ads now ask for essential skills such as communication and problem solving, alongside technical and AI skills.

High-paying tech careers remain resilient as AI expands opportunities across the sector

Tech remains one of the best-paid parts of the UK economy, with an average advertised salary of £63,248 in the first half of 2026, around 60% above the UK average. After falling from a post-pandemic peak in 2022, hiring is stabilising. There were around 470,000 tech job ads in the year to June 2026, roughly 10,000 more than the year before.

Demand is growing fastest in AI and data. AI Engineer ads rose 42% in the past year and Machine Learning Engineer ads 62%. But these specialist roles are mostly aimed at experienced graduates. At the same time, AI skills are spreading quickly into everyday tech jobs, with mentions in entry-level tech ads more than quadrupling since 2019–20.

Employers increasingly want a blend of technical and essential skills. The share of tech ads asking for skills such as communication and problem solving rose from 70% to 87% between 2023 and 2026.

Hiring has also shifted towards experienced staff. Senior tech job ads rose 23% between July 2019–June 2020 and July 2025–June 2026, while entry-level ads fell to around half their earlier level. That decline has now levelled off, with a fall of just 4% in the latest year. Employers advertised more than 57,000 entry-level tech roles in the year to June 2026, around 4,800 a month, and entry-level Cyber Security ads are now slightly above their 2019–20 level.

Alternative routes into tech are creating new opportunities, but barriers remain

The report has a particular focus on young people without degrees, who are more likely to come from lower-income backgrounds and to be not in education, employment or training (NEET). Nearly one million 16 to 24-year-olds are currently NEET, according to DWP’s interim report Young People and Work .

The new report concludes that non-degree routes are a promising way into tech. Because they are agile and employer-led, they can respond quickly to changing skills needs. Almost half (49%) of entry-level tech roles that state an education requirement are open to people without a degree, a share that has held steady since 2019, and the number of these roles grew 7% in the past year.

There is more to do to widen these routes. There are fewer non-degree entry-level roles than in 2019–20, they are concentrated in a handful of occupations and spread unevenly across the country, and their pay advantage over non-graduate jobs in other sectors has narrowed.

The AI & Economic Opportunity Fund, launched today by The Hg Foundation with support from JPMorganChase, is designed to respond to these findings. The £3.4 million, three-year initiative will build evidence of how to widen access to high-quality tech careers for low-income young adults without degrees. It will back delivery programmes reaching ~900 young people, giving them the AI-relevant skills, work experience and employer connections they need to enter and progress in tech apprenticeships and careers.

It comes as the Government’s Industrial Strategy expects the Digital and Technologies sector to create more than half a million jobs by 2035.

The report argues that widening access cannot rely on training alone, and recognises that employers, training providers and policymakers need to act together. Over the next three years the Fund will be building lessons of what is working and carrying out further research to inform recommendations for the wider sector. Initial recommendations include:

• Employers should protect and build first-rung roles such as apprenticeships and structured junior jobs, check whether degree requirements are genuinely needed, and say clearly what alternative evidence they will accept.

• Training programmes should focus on occupations with real entry-level demand, combining technical and AI skills with communication, problem solving and work experience linked to live vacancies and future job prospects.

• Policymakers have a key role to play in coordinating tech talent initiatives such as TechFirst, and in grounding local skills strategies in where entry-level jobs actually are and are forecast to be.