Google Debuts Program to Help Europeans Gain AI Skills

AI Works for Europe, announced Monday (March 16) at the Future of Work Forum in Riga, Latvia, will see the tech giant work with the public sector, nonprofits, employers and universities on this effort, which includes $30 million of additional support for Google’s European AI Opportunity Fund and new resources to help workers build AI skills.

“Since 2015, we’ve trained over 21 million Europeans on digital or AI skills to help them succeed at work, in the classroom, and in growing their businesses,” Debbie Weinstein, president of Google’s operations for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, wrote on the company blog.

“In recent years we’ve refocused our efforts to help everyone gain the AI skills needed to succeed, from workers and small businesses getting started with the essentials, to developers gaining more advanced AI skills on Google Skills.”

In addition, Weinstein said Google’s new AI Professional Certificate will be available in 10 European languages in the coming months, “helping European workers and businesses learn how to use AI tools at work that employers value most.”

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Research by PYMNTS Intelligence has found that 68% of workers who use artificial intelligence say their employer encourages its utilization, compared with 25% who describe their employer as neutral and nearly 7% who say AI use is frowned upon. That encouragement is across generations, but was strongest among mid-career employees.

As PYMNTS wrote late last year, these findings “suggest the debate inside companies is no longer whether AI belongs at work, but how to manage it as reliance grows.”

The research also found that as artificial intelligence usage becomes more common, companies are adopting governance measures. Among companies where AI was allowed, more than 8 out of 10 workers said their workplace had at least one AI policy, while just 17% said their job had no AI policies.

In other Google news, PYMNTS wrote last week about the company’s role in making India a crucial AI market.

As that report noted, Google, Amazon and Microsoft have collectively committed more than $67.5 billion to deepen their AI footprint in India. The Indian government expects the wider AI sector to attract more than $200 billion in investment in the next two years as global companies develop infrastructure, partnerships and local ecosystems.

“Individual companies are already making massive bets,” the report added. “Google announced a $15 billion data center investment in southeastern India last year, calling it its largest AI hub outside the United States.”