Press release · 3 November 2026
Barnsley firms are teaching AI how the job is done
Government-funded programme will help 140 experienced staff across six Barnsley manufacturing and engineering firms, most aged 40 or over, use AI shaped around their own work.
Barnsley, 3 November 2026: Atheni has been awarded £231,000 from the government’s AI Upskilling Challenge Fund to help Barnsley manufacturing, engineering and construction firms put AI to work on the paperwork that takes up their week, from quotes and tenders to safety documents. It is one of four projects announced today in Barnsley, the UK’s first government-backed Tech Town. Read the government announcement
The fund set out to back innovative approaches that could become a blueprint for the rest of the country. Atheni starts from the work people already do. We’re building a Barnsley knowledge layer, holding the regulations, standards and working language of the town’s manufacturing and engineering firms, with each firm’s own documents on top. Atheni’s own AI-powered platform then tailors this to each person, their role and their firm, so AI understands how work is done in Barnsley from day one, while each firm’s information stays its own.
Most of the people taking part are over 40, one of the priority groups the fund set out to reach. They have years of know-how, and put that together with AI and the combination is formidable. Staff choose which parts of their work AI helps with, and they check everything it produces.
Louise Ballard, co-founder of Atheni, said: “Teaching people a tool is only one part of making AI work. What makes the difference is how people work with it day to day, which is why we start with each firm’s own documents and the knowledge that’s specific to Barnsley. We’ve spent more than two years working with teams on exactly this, and Barnsley gives us the chance to show what it looks like across a whole town. If it works here, other towns can follow.”
Speaking in the government’s announcement, Kate Dearden MP, Minister for the Future of Work, said: “AI is already changing the way we work, and successful adoption depends on workers having the skills and confidence to be part of that change.”
Fully funded places are open for Barnsley firms in manufacturing, engineering and related industries. Find out more at atheni.ai/barnsley or email barnsley@atheni.ai.
Funded by UK Government.
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