Empowering global communities with AI skills and education

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and Grow with Google are taking steps to make artificial intelligence (AI) accessible to everyone by offering 100,000 certificate scholarships in over 80 countries. This initiative delivers practical, hands-on digital skills training through local governments and the Giga network, targeting students, educators, and workers.

Many individuals are keen to learn about AI but often struggle to find a clear starting point. To address this skills gap, Google has partnered with the ITU to provide these scholarships, allowing participants to engage in skill-building courses and certification programs available at grow.google/ai.

Every day, people search for ways to begin their journey with AI on Google Search. Both the United Nations and Google have observed this growing interest globally. Research conducted by Ipsos and Google indicates that practical training can make individuals up to four times more confident in using AI technologies. This kind of training turns unfamiliar tech into practical tools for daily use, whether in education, public services, or career development.

This year’s United Nations General Assembly in New York highlighted the importance of making such advancements accessible to all. The ITU reports that 1.2 billion people require basic digital skills training, and an additional 311 million need to learn skills beyond the basics. While connectivity is crucial, it must be paired with the ability to partake in an AI-driven economy to avoid creating a new form of digital divide.

To address this, rapid and widespread efforts are necessary. Collaboration among governments, tech companies, educational institutions, and global organizations is key to making high-quality AI education universally accessible.

Google’s provision of 100,000 scholarships through the AI Skills Coalition, part of ITU’s AI for Good program, underscores this commitment. This initiative involves governments, industry, academic bodies, UN organizations, and civil society to broaden AI skill access and promote inclusive, responsible AI use.

These scholarships will support over 200 courses available in the Coalition’s catalogue for participants from more than 80 countries, aligning with the ITU-UNICEF Giga initiative. This joint effort helps governments connect schools globally, providing communities with essential online resources.

Each community faces unique opportunities, allowing local leaders and national ministries to customize training to meet workforce needs. The program focuses on:

• Bridging the global skills gap through collaborative efforts.
• Tracking scholarship activation and usage, participant engagement and completion, certificate achievements, and impact on target groups like youth, educators, and public servants.
• Working with countries to understand the application of new skills in education, employment, and public service sectors.

The goal is simple: to provide clear, high-quality pathways for anyone asking, “How do I get started with AI?”