You can’t deny the explosion of AI. A global market currently worth $244bn, it’s projected to grow to $800+bn in the next five years. And with that growth comes opportunity. Right now, AI-related roles are growing at 3x the rate of all vacancies.
Once confined to the IT department, AI is now present in every business function. It’s impacting all areas of business to the point where three-quarters of executives are looking at how they can use AI to make their company more competitive. But to successfully leverage the power of AI requires specialist skills – something that is desperately lacking in the market. It’s estimated that by 2030, 43m UK workers will need AI-related training, so they can champion AI to unlock its full potential.
The UK is a hub for AI activity. The number of AI companies has increased by 600% over the last 10 years. And we now have twice the number of AI-based companies than any European nation. AI is the "defining opportunity" of our generation – and you have the opportunity to lead the way.
What is an AI Champion?
AI champions are leaders who bridge technical and business functions. Their role is to advocate for AI use, train colleagues on AI tools, act as the AI point of contact, identify AI use cases and help implement those projects across the business.
Unlike a data scientist, who possesses strong technical skills, an AI champion typically comes from a business background. They understand the technology enough to work with functions across the business and pinpoint where AI can have the biggest impact – for example by automating processes, improving workflows, and enhancing team efficiency. They know how to secure stakeholder backing and end user buy-in. They share their knowledge to educate colleagues about AI use cases. And they’re instrumental to ensure AI products are successfully implemented and adopted.
Ultimately, an AI champion transforms AI from a buzzword into business results:
- Creating/enhancing products and services
- Optimising internal business operations and external processes
- Helping the business to make better decisions
- Automating tasks to free up workers to be more creative
- Pursuing new markets
- Capturing and applying scarce knowledge
Why You Should Become an AI Champion
As an AI champion, you adopt a leading role in your organisation, which sets you up for an exciting and varied long-term career. Not only do you possess expertise in specific tools, you know how to integrate AI into team settings, and foster a culture of innovation across the organisation. Our learners regularly tell us the benefits of adding AI to their skillset are:
Career growth: the road to becoming an AI champion is packed with modern, cutting-edge AI tools, and you gain the confidence to bring them to your organisation – helping you stand out and ensuring you get ahead in the AI era.
Make a difference: we all want to do work that’s meaningful. As an AI champion, you’ll know how to use the technology to automate and enhance processes, making life easier for you and your colleagues, your jobs more rewarding, and the company more valuable.
Boost your leadership potential: you might not have ‘manager’ in your title, but you’ll be seen as someone who drives change. Senior execs will come to you for help, while colleagues look to you for mentorship, because you are the ‘go-to-person for AI.
Ultimately, becoming an AI champion will future-proof your job. It’s estimated that a quarter of current jobs will undergo changes in the next two years and 69m new jobs created because of advances in AI. So despite the fear of it taking our jobs, AI isn’t replacing people – but people who know how to use AI will replace those who don’t.
How to Become an AI Champion
At Cambridge Spark, we set the gold standard. We’re always first to market with courses that develop new skills, and our learners have a 99.5% pass rate with 70%+ distinction/merit grades compared to an industry average of just 33%. Our AI Champion Apprenticeship (L3) is designed to be the fastest and most efficient way to upskill, combining expert-led training with a curriculum backed by thousands of positive reviews.
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The programme is purposefully designed to appeal to non-technical professionals, because often, the most effective champions come from business functions like finance, operations, or marketing, where AI can have the biggest impact. If you’re curious, analytical, and care about making things better, you already have what it takes to become an AI champion.
Unlike university courses, which teach academic theory across a broad range of topics, an apprenticeship programme is focused on practical skills, including AI proficiency, communication, training, and change management.
Additionally, our learners gain access to our online learning platform, EDUKATE.AI, so you can practice and hone your skills. It means that once you’ve completed the programme, you’ll be an AI champion who not only knows how AI tools work, but has used them to solve similar business problems during your mentorship.
About the AI Champion Apprenticeship (L3)
The 13 month programme is delivered through a blend of lectures, workshops, and self-paced e-learning. We also welcome guest speakers in to talk to you about their area of expertise and help you put the theory into real-world context.
At all times, you are supported by our expert lecturers, technical mentors, and professionally trained coaches. And we encourage you to join our community of 4,000+ learners and alumni to share knowledge and network with your peers.
The programme can be funded through the Apprenticeship Levy, which makes it easier to get approval from your line manager, since the money is already ring-fenced for training and professional development.
What’s in it for you?
One of the distinguishing features of an apprenticeship is that it teaches you soft skills, like communication, alongside technical knowledge. Therefore, once you complete your programme, you’ll have the confidence to talk about AI projects, engage stakeholders from across the business, and ensure your colleagues understand what change is necessary, why, and the role they have to play. Additionally, that confidence comes from the practical experience you gain while on the course. In addition to EDUKATE.AI, you will complete off-the-job training to immediately apply your new AI skills to your role.
The AI Champion Apprenticeship (L3) gives you a recognised qualification, which makes you a more credible candidate when applying for future roles – 71% of leaders would hire a candidate with AI skills over those with more conventional experience. And it presents an opportunity for you to take on more senior digital and leadership roles, because you can demonstrate your expertise in successfully managing change.
Ready to Become Your Team’s AI Go-To?
We hold regular intakes for our AI Champion Apprenticeship (L3) throughout the year, so you could find yourself promoted to leader sooner than you think.