‘AI literacy gives people the practical skills to benefit from these technologies’
HR professionals and employers can now upgrade their artificial intelligence (AI) training program, as the federal government has launched its new National AI Literacy Initiative.
The program includes a dedicated training stream for workers and job seekers through Employment and Social Development Canada's Job Bank, according to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED).
The initiative, delivered with the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii), is a key part of Canada's National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, "AI for All," according to the federal government.
The program runs through three streams:
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Essentials for Students
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Essentials for Educators
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Essentials for Canadians
Amii-led programming is expected to reach up to one million post-secondary students and more than 50,000 kindergarten to Grade 12 educators. Beginning Sept. 21, 2026, post-secondary institutions can join a national consortium offering a free, three-hour AI literacy course, and the first chapter of Essentials for Educators becomes available the same day, with five more chapters planned this fall.
ISED confirmed that "workers and job seekers can access short-duration AI training through Employment and Social Development Canada's national Training Finder on Job Bank," meant to help Canadians "understand and adapt to AI as their jobs, tools and workplaces change."
Recently, ISED announced Canada's Responsible Data Centre Development Principles, a framework that requires data centre projects to create lasting local benefits and to avoid shifting electricity costs onto Canadian ratepayers.
‘Practical skills’ to benefit from AI
Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Evan Solomon said, "AI literacy gives people the practical skills to benefit from these technologies, understand their risks and decide where AI belongs in their lives."
Minister of Jobs and Families Patty Hajdu said the initiative and Job Bank's Training Finder are "helping people build new skills, explore career opportunities and prepare for the jobs of tomorrow."
Minister Eleanor Olszewski said the program is backed by a $13-million national partnership with Amii, calling the institute "one of Edmonton's great success stories." Amii CEO Cam Linke called the mandate "a profound validation of Amii's proven track record in AI literacy."
Complete versions of materials
The first complete version of Essentials for Canadians is expected to launch nationally later this year through participating community partners in urban, rural and remote communities, working toward direct, open access for all Canadians.
Institutions not yet part of the post-secondary consortium will be invited to join beginning Sept. 21, 2026, giving their students access to the free course.
ISED directed media inquiries to Leela Polushin, Press Secretary in the Office of the Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation, and to ISED Media Relations.
The National AI Literacy Initiative amid growing interest in AI agents among employers, according to a previous report. “Agents” is “the next level of maturation or evolution of the digital assistants,” said Keith Bigelow, chief product officer at Visier, in talking with Canadian HR Reporter. However, AI agents cannot be governed like traditional software or human staff because they act autonomously across systems, according to another report.
How can HR design the best AI training program?
Here’s how HR professionals can prepare the best AI training program for their workers, according to several sources:
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Action Point for HR Professionals |
Supporting Data |
Source (Link) |
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Build dedicated, protected time and manager support into AI training plans rather than expecting employees to learn on their own initiative. Enterprise leaders interviewed for the research said effective AI training requires "dedicated time, hands-on experience, and managerial support." |
Fewer than half of workers believe their organization provides sufficient time (48%) or tools and resources (48%) to build AI skills. |
The Conference Board, "Report: Most Organizations Are Preparing Workers for Today's AI, Not Tomorrow's Jobs" |
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Prioritize formal, structured training programs over informal or self-directed learning, since employees themselves identify this as the top lever for adoption. Employees ranked "formal gen AI training from their organization" as the single most effective initiative for increasing their day-to-day AI use. |
48% of employees say formal organization-led AI training would most increase their daily gen AI use, ahead of workflow integration (45%) and tool access (41%). |
McKinsey & Company, "Superagency in the workplace: Empowering people to unlock AI's full potential" (2025) |
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Build internal AI-skills pipelines rather than relying solely on external hiring to close skills gaps, since Canadian employers report a skilled domestic workforce is not translating into recruitment success. Canada's data shows a disconnect between AI-skilled workers and employers' ability to find and hire them. |
Canadian employers report difficulty finding employees with AI expertise even though survey data show a highly skilled, AI-ready domestic workforce. |
Future Skills Centre, in collaboration with the Environics Institute and Diversity Institute, "AI and the Shifting Landscape of Future Skills and the Future of Work" (2026) |
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Design training to prepare employees for future role transformation, not only current-role AI use, since most organizations remain focused on today's tasks rather than tomorrow's job changes. This gap matters because it leaves employers unprepared for the next phase of AI-driven workforce disruption. |
Most organizations invest in AI literacy and current-role upskilling, but few prepare workers for the broader reskilling that AI-driven job transformation will require. |
The Conference Board, "Report: Most Organizations Are Preparing Workers for Today's AI, Not Tomorrow's Jobs" (PR Newswire, July 28, 2026) |
