Devon County Council is launching a new training programme exploring the benefits of adopting Artificial Intelligence tools this month. The AI awareness training is for people and organisations across Devon, Plymouth, Somerset and Torbay.

It is part of the Digital Skills Series initiative, funded by the heart of the Southwest Growth Deal. The programme will provide 80 training places for those looking to gain knowledge and confidence in using this rapidly growing technology. It's designed to help participants understand and explore the potential opportunities that AI can provide. AI can be a catalyst for enhancing productivity, and automating repetitive tasks such as data entry, scheduling meetings, co-creating documents and summarising content.

Learning how to use these AI tools can free up time to undertake more complex, non-routine tasks. The course, which will be delivered by King’s Institute for AI, King’s College London, assumes no previous experience or knowledge of AI principles and concepts.

Participants can opt to undertake a minimum of 12 hours of training, with an option to receive an additional six hours of training. All participants will receive personalised feedback with one-on-one follow-up sessions.

Training is structured into four modules, covering basic concepts, applications in business, data literacy, and prompt engineering. Sessions will enable participants to gain an understanding of AI and its ethical considerations to ensure they are informed on how to use AI responsibly and effectively within their business operations, as well as how to use AI for data-driven business strategies, and practical applications of prompt engineering across various AI applications, such as Co-Pilot.

Councillor Rufus Gilbert, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Economic Recovery and Skills, said: “We’re excited to announce this AI training programme, which will offer training to a significant number of participants. Following a competitive selection process, King’s Institute for AI (King's College London) will deliver the training, bringing their extensive AI knowledge to our region. “There’s no doubt that AI is transformative, and through this training, we aim to help businesses and their employees effectively utilise this innovative technology. Over time, this training could enhance productivity and stimulate the local economy.”

Register for a place today and get ready to discover how AI training could support you. If you would like more information on the training on offer, please contact Debra Steele. Tel: 01392 383000 or email: [email protected]