How Google Skills uses Ipsos research to meet the moment for AI training

AI is rewriting the rulebook across every sector, every day. When I talk to our Google Cloud customers, their top priorities are how to apply AI right now, how to ready their workforce, and how to skill up talent fast.

That’s why we built Google Skills for Organizations — to help close this critical skills gap. At our recent Gemini at Work event, Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian announced this new, centralized learning platform to help you and your teams build the AI skills needed now. Google Skills offers exciting new features designed to:

• Hype up your team: Personalize training by teams and roles with assigned learning and an advanced reporting hub, and engage employees with company-specific leaderboards.
• Learn from the experts: Access no-cost content from experts at Google Cloud, Google DeepMind, and more. For leaders of large enterprises, you can build an organization-wide AI adoption plan with the new “Future-Proof Your AI Learning Strategy” course. This course includes practical strategies directly from leaders at TELUS and Deutsche Bank.
• Code better, faster: Your developers can jump right into coding with Gemini Code Assist, built into more than 20 hands-on labs.

As excited as we are to bring the latest training and technology to our customers, this work is about more than that. AI is not only creating new ways of working but new ways of learning, too. Last year, Google worked with Ipsos to conduct a global study to understand the growing skills gap in the face of AI — and what it would take for training to bridge that gap. This research (which we’re releasing today) then informed the development of the new Google Skills platform.

According to those surveyed, engaging with up-to-date AI learning offers remarkable benefits, and they fully anticipate that AI will give them an edge in the future. The study also found that 7 in 10 decision-makers have seen an increase in revenue after engaging in technical training; more than 7 in 10 agree it improves productivity; and nearly 8 out of 10 decision-makers and practitioners agree that learning resources increase innovation.

Five pillars of future-proof AI learning

Five foundational pillars emerged from our study, which shows what learning platforms should offer organizations in order to help bridge the skills gap:

1. Centralized: Today, the average person goes to more than seven different resources just to learn about cloud technologies and skills. For cloud architects, that number jumps to nine. We have to do better. Less time searching, more time learning.
2. Personalized: Training that’s “personalized for my organization’s needs” ranked second out of 11 reasons to pay for AI and technical learning. Training must be customized for the customer.
3. Expert-led: Seven in 10 practitioners are looking for AI training from industry experts, and more than six in 10 say that expert-led resources are most important to their learning journeys.
4. Gamified: Gamification is a major motivator. According to a July study from Applause and Google, 95% of technical learners said they’re more likely to complete a training if it’s fun.
5. Hands-on: New skills are only as good as they are useful. Seven in 10 practitioners prefer hands-on learning. And when it comes to AI, in particular, 75% want hands-on training, too.

These five pillars — which show that how learners interact with Google Skills is as important as what they learn — drove how we designed the platform.

Building Google Skills based on survey feedback

First, Google Skills is now a centralized hub for AI learning and more, with content from teams across Google, like Google Cloud and DeepMind.

Second, you can personalize it with features like organization-specific leaderboards and assigned learning to address your team’s specific needs.

Third, Google Skills is developed by the industry experts who have been developing the underlying technology for decades.

Fourth, the platform’s gamified learning features, like leagues, achievements, and learning streaks, address a nearly universal desire for skill building that’s fun and engaging.

Finally, Google Skills is hands-on; AI-powered labs, like those using Gemini Code Assist, provide direct training for real-world challenges.

Lessons from real customers using Google Skills

The impact of learning with Google Skills isn’t just theoretical. When faced with a massive skills gap, Deutsche Bank partnered with us to get their full workforce up to speed, quickly and at scale. The results have been transformative:

• A leap in productivity: Teams are adapting on the fly, leading to faster workflows and significant efficiency gains.
• Higher engagement: The investment in employee development has driven increases in individual engagement, professional growth and talent retention.

When it comes to AI adoption, the organization is already seeing a strong ROI, including tangible revenue benefits and other critical strategic advantages. Courses like the Generative AI Leader learning path have been key in preparing their teams for the future.

"When the workforce is well informed on emerging technology, they’re better equipped to make informed decisions about allocating resources and building AI solutions,” said Andrey Tapekha, Deutsche Bank U.S Technology Center CTO.

For large enterprises, driving AI adoption organization-wide starts with a solid plan. Establish your strategy today with the Future-Proof Your AI Learning Strategy course and gain insights from leaders like Deutsche Bank’s Tapekha and Gina Narvaez, director for digital talent learning & development at TELUS.

Google Skills is your gateway to learning with a measurable ROI. Future proofing your workforce doesn’t have to be complicated; it starts with one expert-led learning platform — and, yes, a bit of fun.

Contact your Google Cloud representative to learn how to get Google Skills for your organization at no cost.