HRTech Interview with Kevin Kelly, Director at AWS Cloud Institute at Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Kevin Kelly, Director at AWS Cloud Institute at Amazon Web Services (AWS) highlights more on the various educational initiatives and programs undertaken by AWS and how their unique AI programs help today’s learners be market-ready and relevant:

___________

Hi Kevin, take us through your journey at AWS and the key highlights and learnings you’ve come away with over the years…

With over 35 years of experience in the cloud and software development space, I’ve witnessed firsthand how essential it is to continually align training and skills validation with the needs of global learners – on pace with emerging tech trends like AI and machine learning.

At AWS, I’ve overseen the AWS Education Programs portfolio focused on preparing learners to pursue in-demand cloud roles. Programs and initiatives I’ve led include AWS re/Start, AWS Academy, and AWS Educate. My latest venture has been building and leading AWS Cloud Institute, a virtual training program preparing learners to become cloud application developers in as little as one year regardless of their technical background. I’m focused on closing the cloud IT skills gap by creating training opportunities for individuals and building talent pipelines for customers so they can continue to grow and innovate. 

One of our key learnings: every business and every learner is different. People leaders must continuously align their business and technical needs with learning resources that effectively enhance people’s skills, efficiency, and productivity. Additionally, offering a diverse range of training options is key to upskilling your diverse workforce. Everyone learns differently, so providing a broad range of on-demand or instructor-led training, virtual or in-person training, and interactive or game-based offerings is key to every organization’s upskilling success.

We’d love to hear about the AWS free training initiative.

In December 2020, AWS committed to investing hundreds of millions of dollars to provide free cloud computing skills training to 29 million people worldwide by 2025. As part of the 29 million commitment, we’ve launched and scaled free, low-cost, and diverse training initiatives from workforce development programs to in-person learning centers and interactive trainings.

At this year’s annual AWS Summit New York, we announced that we’ve surpassed this goal ahead of schedule by training more than 31 million people for free in more than 200 countries and territories.

The programs that are part of the 29 million commitment are designed to meet a range of learner needs, whether they are totally new to the cloud computing industry, the technology sector, or experienced professionals looking to advance their skills. We provide training opportunities through existing AWS-designed programs, as well as develop new courses to meet a wide variety of schedules and learning goals. The training ranges from self-paced online courses to full-time cohort-based workforce development training programs that can lead to new job opportunities in the technology industry.

While we’ve met our initial goal, our mission remains to build an inclusive pipeline of diverse, skilled talent worldwide that is prepared for cloud and AI-enabled ways of working. 

In 2023, Amazon announced a separate, but complementary commitment – “AI Ready” – designed to provide free AI skills training to 2 million people globally of all ages by 2025. To achieve this goal, we’ve launched new initiatives for adults and young learners, and are scaling our existing free AI training programs to remove cost as a barrier to building these critical skills.

Catch more HRTech Insights: HRTech Interview with JD Dillon, Chief Learning Officer at Axonify

How in your view can B2B leaders format better training and learning experiences in SaaS/Tech?

B2B leaders must meet learners where they’re at in their career and learning journeys, and offer a diverse range and formats of learning resources. This wide range of training options has been key to our global upskilling success. At AWS, we’ve always met developers where they are in their journey, and we take the same approach with all learners, regardless of their roles. Whether you prefer game-based learning, on demand digital e-learning or in-person, instructor-led training, we have something for everyone. 

AWS is particularly focused on game-based learning currently: 80% of managers say they or their teams are likely to engage with gamified cloud training this year. Workplace learning isn’t just a perk anymore, it’s essential, and workers are seeking new, more engaging learning offerings as they develop cloud and AI skills. That’s why we’ve expanded our interactive, game-based learning portfolio with the launches of AWS SimuLearn and a generative AI role for AWS Cloud Quest.

What can B2B leaders do to ensure their employees are as AI-ready as can be?

Business leaders themselves need to become AI-ready by exploring how generative AI can help address their business challenges and drive growth. Many businesses lack AI efficiency simply because leaders don’t have a sufficient understanding of AI yet and what it can do for them. Two foundational courses we recommend to get business leaders familiarized with Generative AI are Generative AI for Executives and Generative AI – Art of the Possible.  

When it comes to upskilling employees, keep career development, a key workforce motivator, top of mind as you roll out training initiatives. Developers and people in nontechnical roles are eager to understand how they can use AI-enabled tools to work faster, work more efficiently, and demonstrate that they have the knowledge and experience employers are looking for. You’re not just investing in AI tools and technology; you must invest in the skills and careers of your people.

Can you talk about some of the core initiatives undertaken by AWS, especially your game-based learning programs?

At AWS, we’re uniquely prepared with the technical expertise to create growth-driving trainings, and an ever-growing suite of learning initiatives and resources:

• On-demand, virtual learning:
  • More than 600 free, on-demand trainings and learning plans in up to 14 languages on AWS Skill Builder, our online learning center.
• Diverse initiatives that enable anyone, anywhere to learn how they like to learn:
  • AWS re/Start, a cohort-based workforce-development training program, which is now offered in more than 200 cities and 60 countries. We’ve tripled the global footprint of this program since making our 29 Million commitment.
  • Three AWS Skills Centers in Seattle, Arlington, and Cape Town that are open to anyone interested in starting their cloud learning journey. 
  • AWS Educate provides access to hundreds of hours of free, self-paced training for new-to-cloud learners, a job board, and a learning community.
• Interactive and game-based learning: 
  • AWS Cloud Quest is our 3D, role-based game that helps learners build practical cloud skills based for their desired roles, such as Cloud Practitioner, Generative AI Specialist, Solutions Architect, Machine Learning Specialist, and more.
    • Our Generative AI role is a new, free foundational Twitch training series for beginner to intermediate learners, where participants learn generative AI concepts, gain hands-on experience hosting large language models, fine-tuning LLMs, and using our generative AI-powered coding tool Amazon Q Developer.
  • Our newest resource is AWS SimuLearn, an immersive learning experience that pairs generative AI-powered simulations with hands-on training to help people translate business problems into technical solutions. Learners engage in interactive conversations with virtual customers to gather requirements, propose solutions, receive contextual feedback, and optimize architectures. In addition to technical AI skills, SimuLearn also helps people develop essential soft skills, such as communication and problem-solving that are critical yet challenging to hone through traditional training methods.

What are some of the biggest challenges to upskilling and reskilling the modern workforce in your view?

Cloud and AI skill demand has skyrocketed for both technical and non-technical roles. Employers have been challenged by the speed and scale of these evolving skill requirements. 

AWS has found that hiring AI-skilled talent is a priority among 73% of employers, but three out of four who consider it a priority can’t find the AI talent they need. We also found that employers are willing to pay up to 47% more for IT workers with AI skills, with pay benefits extending across departments. 

While we clearly face a massive skill gap, there is an opportunity for the workforce to attain the skills needed in a cloud and AI-enabled workforce. We’re helping businesses maximize their workforce potential and validate skills in a competitive talent market through our AI trainings and industry-validated AWS Certifications.

Five predictions and thoughts you’d like to share on the future of training and learning in B2B SaaS and the impact of AI here?

1. We expect the adoption of cloud computing across every industry will continue to fuel a vast number of new jobs and training requirements, especially with the trend toward AI-enabled work. 
2. Better training and understanding of generative AI will empower organizations to instantly get more insights and value through their data and AI-powered synthesis, making it easier and faster to get answers and recommendations, enhancing decision-making, and improving problem-solving.
3. People in technical and non-technical roles who learn, implement, and use AI will be better equipped to help organizations keep pace with innovation. AI and machine learning, and the evolution of generative AI, have the potential to revolutionize the way businesses and their customers operate by increasing their efficiency, productivity, and ability to innovate. 
4. We will see the rise of foundational AI skills for technical and non-technical workers such as prompt writing and responsible AI practices. Free and low-cost training such as AWS’s will continue to play a key role in the democratization of these skills.
5. Organizations that make thoughtful commitments and investments will be the ones to derive the most value out of their cloud and AI investments. 

Read More on Hrtech : HRTech Interview with Gershon Goren, Founder and CEO at Cangrade  

[To share your insights with us, please write to psen@itechseries.com ]