Amazon unveils major plan to train 2 million in AI skills

Amazon is aiming to bolster its position in the artificial intelligence market with plans to train over two million people globally in the tech by 2025, including providing free training and courses to people without technology backgrounds to meet the rising demand for talent.

The ‘AI Ready’ initiative includes the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Generative AI Scholarship, targeted at traditionally underrepresented students, which will be provided by online learning platform Udacity. Amazon has also collaborated with Code.org to create the courses.

Other modules provided by Amazon will include an introduction to prompt engineering, large language model building and low-code machine learning.

AWS vice president of data and AI Swami Sivasubramanian said that AI was the most “transformative” of technologies in the modern world and that AI education must be made available to anyone with a desire to learn, with AI Ready aimed at helping to level the playing field of education.

Research by AWS shows that nearly three-quarters (73%) of employers consider AI skills a priority for candidates to have. The same study also found that AI skills could increase a worker’s salary by around 40%.

The move coincides with the launch of a UK Government initiative, designed to create more scholarships for AI and data science conversion courses.

The plan, which ministers claim will benefit underrepresented people in the tech industry – including women, black people, those with disabilities and from disadvantaged backgrounds – is being backed by up to £17m from Government coffers.

However, ministers are calling on companies to play their part in creating a future pipeline of AI talent by co-funding the AI scholarships, claiming it will help get more people into the AI and data science job market quicker and strengthen UK their businesses.