Google Canada announced Wednesday the creation of an AI Opportunity Fund that will provide $13 million from Google.org to four Canadian organizations providing AI skills development and training across the country.
The four supported organizations are the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute, the First Nations Technology Council, Skills for Change, and the Toronto Public Library. The funding will help them to scale their best-in-class workforce development programs, a Google Canada press release said, adding these organizations together will reach more than two million Canadians with AI training.
Supported by the AI Opportunity Fund, the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute will provide post-secondary students across Canada with foundational AI skills to better adapt to emerging technologies and address the growing AI skills gap in Canada’s workforce, Google Canada said.
The First Nations Technology Council will use Google’s funding support to train indigenous students and provide AI resources to indigenous community members, while Skills for Change will develop AI skills programs to train individuals from communities facing high unemployment.
The Toronto Public Library will use the funding to launch a city-wide AI upskilling initiative to provide community members with access to free tools, AI skills training and programming to support employment, boost productivity and encourage safe, informed use of AI, Google Canada said.
“AI is transforming the way we work and can empower people across almost every field,” said Sabrina Geremia, vice president and country managing director for Google Canada, in the press release. “Canada is uniquely positioned to capture the immense AI opportunity, by putting this technology to work. The AI Opportunity Fund will help upskill Canadians nationwide, strengthen our workforce, and prepare Canadians for an AI-powered economy.”
This funding builds on Google’s existing digital and AI training initiatives in Canada such as Google Career Certificates and other Grow with Google programs.
