LONDON - Britain's first ever nationwide program of industry-funded Artificial Intelligence Masters level courses will see thousands of graduates destined to become qualified experts in AI, an official said Thursday.

The new post-graduate AI drive to boost productivity and create high skilled jobs is part of Britain's modern industrial strategy, Business Secretary Greg Clark and Digital Secretary Jeremy Wright announced in London.

The strategy comes as new figures show inward investment in Britain's AI sector has increased by 17 percent over the past year, more than the whole of Europe combined, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said in a joint statement.

The new skills and talent package is a major milestone supported by industry funding and up to $114 million of British government investment.

The strategy will see up to 200 new AI Masters places at British universities funded by companies in collaboration with the Institute of Coding and the British Computer Society.

Up to 1,000 students will have the opportunity to enhance their skills with new PhDs at 16 dedicated UK Research and Innovation AI Centers for Doctoral Training across the country.

A number of AI research fellowships will be created in collaboration with Britain's prestigious Alan Turing Institute to attract and retain the best research talent from around the world.

This AI skills and talent investment will help nurture leading British and international talent to ensure we retain our reputation in research and development, said Business Secretary Clark.

"Artificial intelligence has great potential to drive up productivity and enhance every industry throughout our economy," Clark added.

"We are leading the way on work to ensure AI innovation has ethics at its core," Digital Secretary Wright said, adding that working with world class academic institutions and industry, the country will be able to train the next generation of top-tier AI talent and maintain Britain's reputation as a trailblazer in emerging technologies.