The firm is advancing its AI strategy with Multiverse to drive operational excellence across its business.

Leading business process outsourcer Capita is accelerating its adoption of artificial intelligence by expanding its partnership with Multiverse, the upskilling platform for AI and tech adoption. After successfully equipping more than 500 employees with advanced AI skills, Capita is now enrolling a further 250 staff members onto Multiverse programmes to embed AI-driven efficiency across the organisation.

To date, Capita’s initial cohort has saved an average of 10 hours per week per learner, delivering over 400 applied AI projects and identifying 40 unique AI use cases. These efficiency gains represent a significant shift toward a data and AI-augmented workforce, where technical skills are used to remove manual administrative burdens and accelerate decision making.

This expansion is central to Capita’s AI transformation strategy, building practical AI skills that improve delivery and reduce cost-of-service. By spreading AI capability across its departments, Capita is enabling its workforce to focus on high-value, strategic work.

Richard Holroyd, CEO of Capita Public Service, and the programme sponsor of the expanded training, said: "Our early work with Multiverse has demonstrated that when you give talented people the right skills, the impact is clear.

“We’re now building on that success as we broaden this training, showing through our own transformation how responsible, practical AI adoption can improve how we work, strengthen our delivery, and set a standard our clients can trust. By getting this right internally, we create a blueprint for the innovative, high‑quality solutions we take to market.”

Euan Blair, CEO and Founder of Multiverse, said: "Capita is showing exactly what it looks like to put AI to work, giving its teams the skills to actually use it every day. Seeing hundreds of people move from curiosity to delivering real results—like saving ten hours every week—proves that when you give a workforce the right training, they can solve even the most complex problems."

Dave Collingwood, a Training Operations Manager and Multiverse learner at Capita, joined the programme to discover how AI could be applied to his daily responsibilities. He identified a major bottleneck in the training team’s booking process and built a solution that reduced the time required for a single booking from eight minutes to just 30 seconds. This single project saved 30 business days of manual work each year and created a more auditable, data-rich system.

Dave is now applying these skills to Capita Fire and Rescue, where he is developing an AI agent to provide 100% assurance on the 6,000 fire risk assessments completed annually, eliminating potential inconsistencies and enhancing public safety.

Dave said: "I'll admit I started the programme unsure of where I’d actually be able to apply AI skills to my day-to-day work. But through the process, I realised just how many of my workflows were bogged down by manual steps that could be far more efficient with AI. Now, I’m confidently building agents that automate that manual work, not only saving my team significant time but also drastically reducing the room for human error."

Capita’s initial cohorts were enrolled on the AI for Business Value, Level 4, programme, which teaches professionals to identify and execute high-impact AI use cases that solve business problems. The next cohort will join the AI-Powered Productivity, Level 3, programme, focusing on the practical application of Generative AI tools like Microsoft Copilot to enhance daily workflows.

Through this continued collaboration, Capita is establishing a new benchmark for operational excellence by turning high-potential skills into impactful business results. By equipping its workforce to lead the AI revolution, Capita is ensuring that it remains at the forefront of industry innovation.

New research from AI upskilling platform Multiverse has uncovered a significant perception gap in the UK’s white collar workforce. Currently, 59% of leaders believe their employees collaborate with AI every day, yet only 42% of employees report doing so—a 17 percentage point disparity that highlights a critical lack of visibility into frontline operations.

The study suggests that many UK executives may be flying blind during this major technological shift. The disconnection is most pronounced in the realm of autonomy. While 23% of CEOs believe employees are already delegating entire tasks to AI, only 8% of employees say they are doing so.

The research also exposes a stark divide that further complicates the transformation landscape. Seniority alone accounts for a 30 percentage point gap in AI adoption: while 52% of mid-level workers collaborate with AI daily, only 21% of junior employees report doing the same. This disparity persists across management levels, with nearly half (48%) of middle managers using AI day-to-day, compared to just 20% of individual contributors.

Despite a bullish outlook on AI’s potential, the research indicates that leaders are insufficiently prepared to guide their organisations through this transformation. More than half (55%) of leaders have received less than five hours of formal AI training from their organisations. Instead, 58% are forced to rely on informal experimentation with tools like ChatGPT to self-teach the basics.

This lack of structured upskilling is directly contributing to adoption hurdles. Both leaders (53%) and employees (57%) cite resistance to change as a primary challenge, while roughly half of both groups point to a negative mindset toward AI as a barrier to progress.

The appetite for change exists, but it requires a shift from informal playing around to structured, long-term development. 85% of leaders and 78% of employees agree that more frequent training is essential to keep pace with the current rate of change.

Gary Eimerman, Chief Learning Officer at Multiverse, said: “AI is not a monolithic tool, and its application varies wildly between a junior developer, a middle manager, and a CEO. The 30% gap in adoption we see between seniority levels is a clear signal that the one-size-fits-all approach to AI is failing. To bridge this divide, businesses must move beyond generic training and implement custom AI upskilling paths tailored to the unique daily workflows of every individual.”

To truly land AI transformation, organisations must shift toward an applied learning strategy. By developing custom AI frameworks that address the specific needs of individual workers, leaders can move from flying blind to driving a cohesive, organisation-wide transformation.

Pan Macmillan has launched a new AI Academy for colleagues, as part of a push to upskill its people and build a more sustainable publishing industry. Training will be provided by Multiverse to 20 colleagues across departments - including colleagues from editorial to finance, design and operations - helping them deliver more effective service to authors and illustrators through responsible AI use.

By harnessing AI to enhance processes and workflows, the publisher will ensure an aligned and ethical approach to AI is embedded across the business. This will unlock time and cost savings that allow them to deploy more resources towards the meaningful work of building relationships, developing new creative ideas and bringing books to the widest possible market. Training will promote coordinated and strategic AI use while improving efficiencies so teams can focus on attracting new readers and delivering the best results for their authors and illustrators.

Pan Macmillan is a partner of the National Year of Reading, a UK-wide campaign backed by the Department of Education and delivered by The National Literacy Trust, to help more people discover the joy of reading. According to the National Literacy Trust, only one in three eight- to 18-year-olds enjoy reading in their spare time – a 36% drop in two decades.

Joanna Prior, CEO at Pan Macmillan said: “Publishing is a people business, fuelled by the hard work and dedication of our teams and the brilliant creativity of our authors and illustrators. Our partnership with Multiverse to launch the AI Academy is about empowering our people with the tools they need to thrive in a rapidly evolving landscape.

"By mastering responsible AI, we aren't just improving workflows; we are unlocking the time and energy needed to focus on what truly matters: building deep relationships and finding new ways to bring stories to life. This isn't about replacing the human touch - it’s about enhancing it.

"At a time when literacy rates are a growing concern, we have a clear responsibility to use every innovation at our disposal to reach more readers and broaden our impact. We are looking ahead with curiosity, ensuring that as we grow more efficient, we remain a forward-thinking home for the very best talent in the publishing industry."

Briony Grogan, Director of People and Culture at Pan Macmillan said: “Our new training programme with Multiverse exemplifies our commitment to giving our teams the skills needed to thrive and best serve our creative community. Gaining a better understanding of AI tools gives our people a toolbox for the future and ensures that we will continue to thrive as a publisher for many decades to come.”

Gary Eimerman, Chief Learning Officer at Multiverse said: “Pan Macmillan has been a cornerstone of the British publishing industry for over 180 years. We are proud to be launching our latest AI Academy with a company that carries such social and cultural impact. We look forward to supporting their teams in embracing future-focused skills development that will deliver measurable results to the business on their campaign to reach more readers."

The training will see learners enrolled on Multiverse’s Level 4 AI for Business Value, which helps harness AI tools such as Power BI and Microsoft Copilot, and supports users with integrating them into everyday manual tasks.

Multiverse is the upskilling platform for AI and tech adoption, which delivers personalised, on-the-job learning. Multiverse has trained more than 20,000 apprentices in AI, data and digital skills since 2016.

Over 1,500 companies work with Multiverse to deliver a new kind of learning that’s transforming the workforce at scale. Programmes are targeted at people of any age or career stage.