Would you trust a bus driver trained by ChatGPT?
Inadequate training for frontline workers is putting the public at risk, writes education technology expert Jon Neale
By Jon Neale
If you got on the bus today and discovered that your bus driver had been learning how to drive by watching TikTok or asking ChatGPT, would you feel comfortable letting them drive you home?
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It may sound far-fetched, but new research suggests workers across Britain often turn to such sources to learn how to do tasks at work.
Ahead of the government’s first budget later this month, the Prime Minister is expected to set out a series of pledges to make life easier and more sustainable for Britain’s workforce. But a hidden challenge facing Britain’s frontline workers deserves greater attention from the government: a lack of training that’s putting the public at risk.
At Kahoot!, we’ve been aware of this issue for some time, but even I was shocked when I saw the figures from a major new survey we conducted among frontline workers.
22% of workers in industries like transport, social care, emergency services, hospitality and retail believe a lack of training in their role has led them to make a mistake that put the public at risk.
Let that really sink in: more than one in five public-facing workers in this country believe their lack of training has the potential to cause physical harm to the public.
The why and how of this crisis is also revealed in the data: over half have been asked to carry out a task without formal training; a third have received no formal training in the past year; a fifth say the training they’ve received has been inadequate and left them unprepared.
Going back to the bus example I opened this piece with: over half of workers have turned to platforms like YouTube or TikTok, or AI models like ChatGPT, to compensate for a lack of formal training.
Workers in the UK are already facing systemic challenges. According to our research: half have experienced burnout in their current role; more than half have experienced verbal or physical abuse from members of the public and over half believe reporting workplace issues is pointless. Nearly a third believe their pay doesn’t cover their essential living costs.
Combine that with the uncertainty created by inadequate training and it’s no wonder that more than a third of frontline workers are looking to quit their jobs in the next 12 months.
At a time when the government is dealing with the twin crises of productivity and NEETs, the training dilemma cuts to the heart of why the country is struggling to keep pace with some of these issues.
Workers feel they’re stagnating in their roles. They feel undervalued and uncertain. 18% even say that their lack of training is putting their own health and wellbeing in jeopardy.
If the Prime Minister and the Chancellor want to help the UK’s frontline workers in the budget, and effect changes that could boost productivity, worker wellbeing and economic participation at the same time, they need to put training at the heart of their agenda.
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Jon Neale is Growth Director at Kahoot!
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