Where Does Experience Come From?

For decades, most careers followed a familiar pattern. People started with routine work, built confidence through repetition and gradually took on more complex responsibilities. The early tasks were not always exciting, but they were where experience was gained, mistakes were made and professional judgement began to develop.

Artificial intelligence is beginning to disrupt that progression.

Many of the tasks AI performs well are the same ones traditionally given to people at the start of their careers: drafting documents, summarising information, researching topics and handling routine administration. As those activities become increasingly automated, an important question begins to emerge.

Where does experience come from?

The UK government’s new AI apprenticeship scheme offers one possible answer. Rather than focusing solely on developing new technology, the programme aims to help people build practical AI skills while they are in work. The emphasis is not simply on understanding AI, but on learning how to use it effectively, responsibly and confidently as part of everyday work. That reflects a broader shift in how organisations are beginning to think about adoption.

For much of the past two years, the conversation has centred on introducing AI tools. Increasingly, attention is turning towards the people expected to use them. Successful adoption depends not only on the technology itself, but on whether employees have the confidence, judgement and practical experience to use it well.

The challenge is also bigger than learning how to write a good prompt.

If AI takes on more of the routine work traditionally carried out by junior employees, organisations may need to rethink how people develop expertise in the first place. Those early tasks were rarely just about completing work. They were opportunities to learn, build confidence and understand the context that sits behind more complex decisions.

That doesn’t mean AI apprenticeships are simply teaching people to use new tools. They may represent the beginning of a different approach to developing experience itself.