Microsoft has expanded its AI Academy into the Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) market, with the customisable multi-modal training program aimed at driving AI adoption across the workforce and enhancing the technology's impact.

The company has selected training partner, Akkodis Australia, to run a pilot of the AI Academy with five organisations: Australia Post, ASB Bank, BOQ, NAB and the West Australian Government. More than 4,100 employees from these organisations completed in-person and virtual AI upskilling programs through the Academy.

"The AI Academy addresses a strategic shift in how our customers across government and industry want to upskill their employees in AI, with the focus now on all roles in their organisation rather than specific employees or teams," said General Manager, Enterprise Commercial at Microsoft Australia and New Zealand, Jo Dooley.

"As a Microsoft Consulting Partner and authorised Microsoft Training Services Partner, Akkodis Australia is uniquely positioned to bring a wealth of practical experience and expertise to the AI Academy," said Chief Executive Officer and Senior Vice President at Akkodis Australia, Peter Hawkins.

The AI Academy is designed to support the development of AI skills for both technical professionals and non-technical workers. According to research by the Tech Council of Australia, AI could create up to 200,000 AI-related jobs in Australia by 2030. The AI Academy is highly customised to each organisation's target audiences, objectives and outcomes.

"Given the rapid advances of technology, upskilling is hugely important, and over several years, we've been building a strong learning culture at NAB. This includes the establishment of a Data & Analytics Guild to help train and develop our people with their technical and conceptual skills across data science practices, data governance, data privacy and literacy, and the ethical use of data, AI and machine learning," said Executive of Data Strategy and Execution at NAB, Jessica Gleeson.

The AI Academy helps organisations capitalise on this interest and drive innovation, while ensuring their workers use generative AI responsibly and adhere to their specific policies. The AI Academy is now available for all organisations in Australia and New Zealand and is being expanded across Asia. Organisations can now also create their own customised programs using Microsoft's free skilling assets through Microsoft Learn for Organisations.

"The academy program is all about educating our team members on the power of AI and how to use it securely and responsibly. Empowering our people to do new things faster, better and smarter is integral to how we will work into the future. Under our Post26 Strategy this is part of a transformation that's highly focused on streamlining our business and improving customer experience across everything we do," said Executive General Manager Enterprise Services at Australia Post, Michael McNamara.

"AI is a critical tool for workplace productivity, innovation and customer engagement. The AI Academy has provided valuable foundational training for our teams, which will help drive BOQ's ambition to be at the forefront of leveraging AI," said Chief Information Officer at BOQ, Craig Ryman.