Later this month, Salesforce is hosting its annual software conference—bringing thousands of innovators and leaders in tech, customer relations, and beyond. This year in particular, Dreamforce is themed around the elephant in the room for many top companies: artificial intelligence.
With more than 30 sessions on AI alone, the company has self-described the event as the, “AI event of the year.” This may be supported by the fact that one of the conference’s top headliners is Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI—the creator of ChatGPT. The generative tool has transformed the ways some students learn and teachers teach with the ability for complex math problems or free-response essays to be answered in a matter of seconds.
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But many companies and industry leaders have decidedly chosen to embrace AI, rather than try to avoid it. Training the next generation AI skills is increasingly becoming part of the mission of Trailhead, Salesforce’s online skills training program.
Students can choose from hundreds of free “Trail” pathways to increase their knowledge of subjects like cybersecurity, data cloud, and consulting, as well as Salesforce software.
“This is a way for people who have been in the ecosystem for 20 years and for people who have been in it for 20 minutes to all come and really learn about our products and be able to build their careers or just make their companies more valuable with the purchases that they’ve made of Salesforce products,” says Ann Gaudard Weeby, senior vice president of Trailhead at Salesforce
From retail to AI and data consulting
Six years ago, Shakil Kamran was a full-time student, new father, and a retail worker. Now, he’s preparing to start a new job at AllCloud, a company that provides professional insight in the world of generative AI and cloud infrastructure. He credits his success to Trailhead.
“The training platform is such a robust tool that you can learn on the go. You can learn on your own—whether you have any skills or any knowledge about tech or anything at all,” he tells Fortune.
After realizing he wanted to start a career in tech, he stumbled upon the program through an education nonprofit called PepUp Tech. After working through various Trails, the floodgates opened, he says.
“I wanted to learn more; everything was about more. I wanted to explore more, and I wanted to get different roles and learn different places and understand the different dynamics of what the Salesforce ecosystem is truly about,” he adds.
But, for Kamran, the community at Trailhead was really the game changer—aiding him throughout his educational journey with any questions, finding jobs, and preparing for a career.
“Trailhead really helped me because I was able to talk the language and talk the talk at the interviews—but more so because of the hands-on challenges that I’ve done. I was able to do the work that was given to me in my first role,” he says.
A future with AI
Many believe AI will be part of the biggest technological shift of our lifetimes. This includes Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai, who said this month that AI may even be bigger than the internet itself.
But surveys from Salesforce show workers are not prepared for the change. Over 60% of full-time desk workers lack the skills to use generative AI technology—even though a majority believe it will advance their career.
As a result, training the next generation—and reskilling the current generation—about AI is a key component of the tech revolution.
“It is a game changer because we’re not talking about changing just businesses—we’re talking about changing communities as well,” Kamran notes.
Weeby adds that it is imperative for employees at every single level to upskill because embracing AI together will allow companies to leverage technology more effectively—allowing for increased productivity and innovation.
Correspondingly, Trailhead is launching new AI pathways for individuals to learn more about topics like ethical AI, large language models, and data transformation. The company also offers an AI Associate Certification.
“There’s a journey that we’re all going to be on to make sure that it’s safe, that we’re applying AI in the right ways, that we’re using the best-use cases, and that all of our people and our customers know how to utilize that as well,” Weeby says. “So we’re learning together and companies have a huge responsibility.”
Many companies, including Salesforce, are shifting toward skills-based hiring, adding that sometimes, a brand new certification can be just as valuable as a hard-earned, expensive degree, she notes—adding that curiosity and having a drive to learn are also crucial.
“It is such an exciting time,” Weeby says. “Salesforce is a leader in generative AI. Trailhead is going to be on this journey every step of the way. We’re going to be providing new content, educating you and really helping to make sure that not only are we using this innovation for the good of society and for the growth of businesses, but also just in a safe and trusted way.”
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