Ministers are developing artificial intelligence tools to write CVs and covering letters for jobseekers, as they seek to free up Jobcentre staff to work on more complex cases and reduce the UK’s welfare bill.
Officials hope to set out their plans within a year and are working to establish if the tools can be built in-house or would need to be contracted from the private sector, according to people briefed on the plans.
“Work coaches’ time is so limited and they could be doing much more valuable things than sitting and rewriting people’s CVs,” one senior official said, referring to Jobcentre staff who provide employment advice.
The plan is part of a wider drive by the Labour government to get more people into work and bring down the cost of the benefits system.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has set a goal to reach an 80 per cent employment rate, up from 75 per cent today, by getting about 2mn more people into work.
This will mean boosting employment not only for unemployed jobseekers, but also among people receiving health-related benefits who are not required to look for work.
The UK spends about £65bn a year on incapacity and disability benefits, more than it does on defence, according to the House of Lords economic affairs committee.
But jobcentres, the main point of contact for benefits claimants, are too overstretched to offer the support needed for people with complex health conditions.
There are about 650 jobcentres across the UK, staffed by roughly 16,500 work coaches. Each coach can be responsible for upwards of 100 claimants and by the government’s own admission, spend much of their time policing benefits claims.
A report published last summer by the Tony Blair Institute in collaboration with the company Faculty AI, urged the Department of Work and Pensions to embrace the technology across its operations.
AI tools could help jobseekers to tailor CVs and covering letters, spot gaps in their experience and practise interviews, the report found.
Proposals to overhaul the Jobcentre network, set out in November, are meant to help work coaches give more “personalised” support, including through the use of machine learning to respond to queries faster.
But encouraging benefits claimants to submit cover letters wholly written by AI would go against DWP’s own rules for applicants to work within the department.
The department’s guidance says this is an “unacceptable” use of the technology, although it can be used to research and plan a pitch.
“Statements written by GenAI are often generic and may not personally represent you or your skills and experience . . . You must draft your statement yourself to ensure it accurately reflects your personal experience and aligns with the job advert,” the guidance states.
Recruiters say jobseekers’ increasing use of AI to tailor and polish applications has led to a deluge of low-quality applications. Candidates were submitting more applications as employers struggled to sift through CVs, they said.
The government said it had no intention to replace work coaches through the use of AI.
“AI technology offers options to enhance the services offered through jobcentres and can be a great tool to help people apply for jobs but even the most innovative version is incapable of building the empathetic connection that is needed to help those looking for work,” it said.
