As AI transforms the way we work, business leaders around the world are exploring ways to implement AI solutions. And technology professionals are looking to quickly build their AI skills to benefit their careers, projects, and teams.  

At the same time, organizations are confronting a skills gap. In fact, according to the 2024 Work Trend Index Annual Report from Microsoft and LinkedIn, 55% of leaders report that they’re concerned about having enough talent to fill roles in the year ahead and 76% of professionals say that they need AI skills to remain competitive. The good news is that Microsoft Learn offers skill-building resources, opportunities, and solutions to meet these critical needs.  

Business leaders and professionals care about AI skills.

To accelerate AI transformation, we recommend a skills-first approach—emphasizing skills and competencies, in addition to degrees and job histories. We suggest focusing on skill building for your whole organization:  

Take a structured approach. Begin with basic AI concepts as technical teams build the skills to onboard Microsoft Copilot experiences and create AI apps. Help business users understand how to use AI in their work, and help ensure that those in technical roles have the skills to design, build, and deploy solutions to address your organization’s unique business scenarios.  

Upskill across every role. Beyond IT, everyone in your organization plays a key role in company-wide AI adoption. To help develop, deploy, and make the best use of new AI solutions, upskill your entire workforce. 

Work with a trusted partner. Start with the AI learning hub on Microsoft Learn, which offers training to accelerate your AI transformation. With Microsoft Learn, business leaders can get the skills to craft strategic AI plans, technical teams can learn to create and implement AI applications with Microsoft AI solutions, and business users can make the most of new AI skills to supercharge their productivity.  

A skills-first approach to AI leads to skill building for every role, with Microsoft Learn as a trusted partner.

Discover the latest industry insights around AI skills in our recently published position paper Accelerate AI transformation with skill building, which highlights the experiences of customers and partners who are running AI skill-building initiatives. Offering practical guidance, it expands on key ways that you can drive successful AI transformation in your organization.  

Learn Microsoft AI with our new blog series 

Today, we’re launching “Get AI ready,” our new AI-focused series of blog posts exploring perspectives and opportunities to acquire critical AI skills. In this series, we share insights, learning experiences, resources, and ideas for individuals and organizations as we all navigate the world of AI skill building.  

Plus, we share how we’re refreshing our training offerings—and how we’re using AI to improve them—so you know that you can learn the latest skills in the most productive way. We understand the challenges, uncertainties, and benefits that come with AI, and we’re creating this series to help you find what you need to skill up for success. 

Wondering what to expect? Here’s a sneak peek into future posts:  

Deep dives into AI learning journey resources from Microsoft Learn 

Real-world AI skill-building success stories and best practices from individuals and organizations 

Microsoft as customer zero for AI adoption and what we’ve learned about skilling up our own employees 

How to foster a culture of AI learning and innovation 

How to prove your AI skills with Microsoft Credentials 

No matter where you are on your AI learning journey, Microsoft Learn meets you there with the resources you need to build and validate your skills—and we’re there for individuals, teams, and organizations alike. 

Coming next: Get AI ready: Build technical skills with the Copilot learning hub 

Stay tuned for our next post! We’ll explore the new Copilot learning hub on Microsoft Learn, created for technology professionals and filled with helpful resources tailored to specific job roles and career goals. It’s where you can find what you need to develop the technical skills to put Microsoft Copilot to work for you. In the post, we’ll include insider information from the team that creates these resources. Spoiler alert: Expect tips and tricks on how to choose your perfect Copilot experience and make the most of it to help boost your efficiency and productivity.  

Stay tuned for our next post in the blog series: Build technical skills with the Copilot learning hub.

From initial AI skill building across every role, to making the most of Copilot at your desk each day—and beyond—we look forward to sharing this AI learning journey with you as we help close the skills gap together. 

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