Bringing Generative AI upskilling to Oklahoma

For more than a decade, Google has called Oklahoma home with a data center in Mayes County. Since then, we’ve trained more than 147,000 Oklahomans on digital skills in partnership with 100 organizations across the Sooner State, including public libraries, chambers of commerce, community colleges and more.

AI is transforming the way we work: the average employee using generative AI is saving 1.75 hours each day.

To help more Oklahomans gain essential AI skills, we’re proud to announce that Google plans to offer our new Google AI Essentials course to more than 10,000 residents at no cost. This self-paced course requires no prior experience and is taught by AI experts at Google who are working to make the technology helpful for everyone. In under 10 hours, they’ll do more than just teach learners about AI — they’ll show them how to use it in their day-to-day work. Learners gain hands-on experience using generative AI tools to help develop ideas and content, and speed up daily work tasks. They’ll also learn how to write effective prompts and use AI responsibly, including identifying AI’s potential biases and understanding ethical implications. After they complete the course, they’ll earn a certificate from Google to share with their network.

The program will be available at no cost to Oklahoma residents and accessible at oklahoma.gov/learnAI.

This announcement builds upon the state’s partnership with Google on the Google Career Certificates program. Since 2022, 85% of Google Career Certificate graduates in Oklahoma report that they’ve secured gainful employment through the initiative. Google Career Certificates are online, self-paced training and certificate programs that can be completed in as little as six months. They’re designed to provide learners with the skills they need to succeed in today’s job market.

The State of Oklahoma created partnerships with local nonprofits to offer comprehensive wraparound support to learners in the certificate program. Nonprofit partners like Pivot and Work Ready Oklahoma provide support like childcare, transportation, and, in some cases, “learn-and-earn” salaries so people can complete a certificate while earning an income.

The Oklahoma State Department of Education also recently brought Generative AI for Educators to the state. Developed by AI experts at Google in collaboration with MIT RAISE, this no-cost two-hour course is designed to help teachers save time on everyday tasks and enhance student learning. School districts across the state of Oklahoma, including Ada Public Schools, Enid Public Schools and Shawnee Public Schools, have already committed to offering the course to educators.

To learn more about bringing Google Career Certificates to your state or educational institution visit grow.google/certificates or grow.google/ai.