How to Find AI Training that Aligns with Your Business Goals 

business owner looking at target
  • Home
  • /
  • Insights
  • /
  • How to Find AI Training that Aligns with Your Business Goals
August 5, 2024

The AI skills gap is widening.

While AI races forward, many professionals are stuck at the starting line, armed with outdated skills and a gnawing fear of irrelevance.

You know AI is the future, but every time you try to get your team on board, you hit a wall. 

Generic courses don't speak to your organization’s unique needs. They just produce theoretical jargon that never translates to real-world applications. 

You're left wondering: "Is there a way my entire team can learn to use AI?"

Unfortunately, every day your team spends without practical AI skills is a day your competitors gain ground. 

But here's the good news: they don't need to be coding geniuses or math prodigies to master AI. What they need is a learning approach as unique as their careers.

The AI Skills Dilemma Holding You Back

You're smart. 

You're ambitious. 

So why does mastering AI feel like scaling Mount Everest in flip-flops?

Let's rip off the band-aid and confront the ugly truth: most AI training programs aren't designed for you and your team. 

They're built for an imaginary audience – part computer scientist, part Fortune 500 CEO, with a dash of sci-fi enthusiast. The symptoms of this AI skills gap are painfully familiar:

  • Drowning in Jargon: You open an AI course, and it's like reading a foreign language. "Neural networks," "supervised learning," "gradient descent" – it might as well be ancient Greek.

  • Theory Without Practice: Sure, you can recite the definition of machine learning, but can you use it to boost your marketing campaign's ROI? The disconnect between knowledge and application is maddening.

  • One-Size-Fits-None: Generic AI courses treat all learners the same. But the needs of your salesmen are vastly different from those of your data analysts or HR personnel.

  • The "When Will I Ever Use This?" Syndrome: You're investing time and energy, but the payoff seems abstract. How does understanding algorithm X translate to better outcomes?

  • Imposter Syndrome on Steroids: Everyone seems to be talking about AI, implementing AI, breathing AI. Meanwhile, you're still struggling to separate your chatbots from your neural nets.

  • The Moving Target Problem: Just when you think you're catching up, a new AI breakthrough makes headlines. It's exhausting, and it's killing your confidence.

  • Analysis Paralysis: With countless courses, boot camps, and certifications out there, how do you choose? The paradox of choice leaves you stuck at square one.

Here's the kicker: this isn't your fault. The system is broken. Traditional AI education is failing professionals like you who need practical, job-ready skills tailored to the specific career paths of your business.

Know Thyself (and Thy Industry)

Take a hard look at your employees’ and industry’s needs. Your AI learning paths should be as unique as your team.

Here’s a little activity for you to do with your team:

Have everyone write down three specific ways AI could enhance their skills. Have them be brutally honest and wildly ambitious.

Then, tell them to identify the gap between where they are and where they want to be. This isn't about feeling inadequate; it's about getting crystal clear on what they need to learn.

After that, they should create two columns. 

In the first, have them list their current AI-related skills (even if it's just "can use Siri without crying"). In the second, they’ll list the AI skills needed to achieve their goals from step one. The space between is their personalized curriculum.

Ditch the Jargon, Embrace the Practical

Remember, you're not aiming to have your team write academic papers on neural networks. They need practical, applicable skills. Look for learning resources that speak your language and offer real-world applications in your field.

For example, find three AI case studies in your industry. How did companies like yours use AI to solve real problems? These are the types of skills you want to learn.

Learn in Sprints, Not Marathons

Forget year-long courses. With how quickly AI is moving, agility is key. Break your team’s learning into focused sprints.

Their progress shouldn't be measured by certificates, but by real-world impact. Set concrete, industry-specific benchmarks for your AI skills.

Embrace the Learning Loop

AI is evolving, and so should your learning. Set up a system for continuous improvement.

For example, consider scheduling a monthly "AI skills check-in." Use this time to reflect on their progress and keep everyone updated on new developments in AI relevant to your industry. By tailoring your team’s AI learning experience, you're integrating it into the fabric of their careers. 

The question isn't whether AI will transform your industry – it's whether you'll be leading that transformation or scrambling to catch up.

So, where do you go from here? How do you turn this vision into your reality?

Unlike generic AI courses, the Bizzuka AI SkillsBuilder™ Series is tailored to specific career paths. Whether you want to enroll employees in the marketing, consulting, academia, or office management departments, there's a skills track designed for them–and that’s why LSU trusted us to partner with them.

The AI SkillsBuilder™ Series offers:

  • Industry-specific AI training

  • Hands-on projects that apply directly to your work

  • Mentorship from AI professionals in your field

  • A community of peers on the same journey

Remember, the goal isn't to turn your team into AI engineers or data scientists (unless that's their jam). It's about having AI as a powerful tool in your professional toolkit and speaking the language of AI fluently enough to bridge the gap between technology and your industry's unique needs.

Schedule a call with our instructor, John Munsell, to learn more about what’s included in the course and how we can meet the unique needs of your team.