A number of funded skills and support programmes are currently available across the North West through the North West Tertiary Education Cluster (NWTEC) PEACEPLUS portfolio and related AI support initiatives. Together, they cover digital upskilling, green skills SME innovation and practical AI adoption.

Within the NWTEC, the NWDEPTH is focused on digital upskilling while GRASP is centred on green skills, green apprenticeships and carbon literacy. Other projects listed by NWTEC include North South ESTEEM, which is focused on cross border education and employability mobility, Innovate+ is aimed at SME innovation and competitiveness, STRIDE, which supports rural communities to use ICT and E-DATA, which offers digital diagnostics, mentoring and tools for SME digital transformation.

The Artificial Intelligence Collaboration Centre (AICC) provides fully funded support, education and upskilling opportunities. Its Responsible AI Hub is a separate practical resource, offering tools and guidance for organisations that want to use AI reposnsibly. The Hub helps users understand AI and apply it in a fair, smart and safe way, with materials on governance, risk, policy and trust.

Awaken Hub’s ActivateAI Toolkit, is a further free resource rather than a taught course. It was launched in March 2026, Activate AI showcase and is presented as a resource to help organisations continue with their AI journey with ‘confidence and clarity’. This emphasis is on practical business use and productivity.

Taken together, these programmes and resources form a reference for members seeking funded training or free guidance for workforce development, innovation and AI adoption. Below is not an exhaustive list of options, if there is something that is not included please feel free to contact joshk@londonderrychamber.co.uk