Microsoft to Train 1 Million Australians, New Zealanders in AI

The tech giant held an artificial intelligence tour in Sydney, bringing together 5,000 people.

An AI (artificial intelligence) logo is pictured at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, on Feb. 27, 2024. Josep Lago/AFP via Getty Images

Microsoft plans to upskill one million Australians and Kiwis in artificial intelligence (AI) by working with government, business, schools and the not-for-profit sector.

The tech giant’s corporate Vice President Kate Behnscken said every job would require some degree of AI fluency in the future.

“AI is changing the way we work, learn, and connect. Our goal is to help people unlock the power of AI by building capabilities in the workforce and supporting communities by helping them gain AI skills,” she said.

In addition, Microsoft will provide free resources via its platform, including the Artificial Intelligence Skills Navigator.

Steven Worrall, Microsoft’s Australia and New Zealand managing director, said he was proud to announce the new commitment.

“We will work with governments, businesses, educational institutions and not-for-profits on a range of exciting initiatives to achieve this goal,” he added.

How Will Microsoft Train Australians?

Microsoft plans to provide AI skills to businesses across Australia and New Zealand via the AI Academy, a partnership with global digital engineering company Akkodis.

Further, Microsoft will engage more than 20,000 small and medium business leaders to bridge the AI skills gap. The company is exploring partnerships with Business New South Wales and the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Within government, Microsoft will work with national and state government agencies to build AI skills in the public service.

“These partnerships will build on successful, early rollouts of Microsoft 365 Copilot in numerous government agencies and the launch of the AI Academy program,” Microsoft said.

“They will also see Microsoft work with the Victorian government on a range of initiatives focused on strategic engagement, AI, skills, and cybersecurity.”

Minister for Skills and Training Andrew Giles said the government would always back employers like Microsoft.

“The Australian government is committed to ensuring Australians have the skills required for the jobs of today and tomorrow, which is why we are investing in Vocational Education and Training, TAFEs and fit-for-purpose facilities, to meet the needs of our growing nation,” he said.

In schools, Microsoft is helping 12,500 educations at Brisbane Catholic Education to take up Microsoft 365 Copilot across 140 schools.

“Microsoft also aims to help 175,000 people in education build the skills they need for the future workforce,” the company said.

Artificial Intelligence Challenges

In its third quarter survey, Deloitte found only 23 percent of organisation felt “highly prepared” for the challenges AI brings to risk management and governance.

Three major barriers to deploying AI tools and applications were regulatory compliance, difficulty managing risks and governance issues, including the European Union’s AI Act.

“To deal with regulatory uncertainty, about half of organizations reported they are preparing regulatory forecasts or assessments,” Deloitte said in the August 2024 State of Generative AI report (pdf).

More than 40 percent of survey respondents found they were struggling to define and measure the impact of their generative AI initiatives.

“Less than half said they are using specific KPIs to measure Generative AI performance, and many standard measures of success aren’t currently being applied,” Deloitte said.

Deloitte also warned recently that top level C-Suite executives were starting to seek returns on their investments in artificial intelligence.

“There is a chance that their interest in Generative AI could wane if initiatives don’t pay off as much, or as soon, as expected,” the report said.

Psychosocial Risk Warning

Meanwhile, RMIT School of Economics senior research fellow Emmanuelle Walkowiak warned it was likely there would be psychosocial, health, and wellbeing risks to workers with the integration of AI in the workplace.

“It is important that businesses scrutinise psychosocial risks when deploying AI tools to ensure the deployment of technologies that serve both the wellbeing and productivity of workers,” she said in July.

“There is currently a lack of framework and guidelines specifically assessing the use of automated AI systems and how they can generate psychosocial hazards at work.”