AI training: 6 months of capability in 6 weeks
A large organisation trained 3,200 employees in six weeks instead of the six months originally planned. The programme also created records to support the organisation’s AI literacy programme. The client's name is confidential.
The problem
A client with 3,200 employees across seven countries planned to launch a major AI programme in twelve weeks. Its people were not yet ready, and its six-month training plan would finish too late. The organisation also needed proof that staff understood the AI they would use, as required by Article 4 of the EU AI Act.
The approach
We shortened the timetable by running suitable activities at the same time and replacing generic lessons with training built around each person's role and real work.
The programme design
- Leaders — two focused sessions for senior leaders on investment choices, oversight and how to test suppliers' claims.
- Specialists — four sessions for product owners, data leads and risk partners, taught in three groups during weeks two to four.
- Wider workforce — practical training for employees on using AI safely in their own work, with tests suited to each role.
- Internal champions — 45 staff trained to support colleagues and continue the programme without relying on Cognis.
- Clear evidence — attendance, test results and role coverage recorded to support the organisation's EU AI Act duties.
What made the compression work
Three choices made the six-week plan possible. We taught people using the client's real work, trained internal champions to support delivery from week three, and designed every test and attendance record to provide the required evidence from the start.
Results
The wider AI programme launched on time with the required staff knowledge records in place. After Cognis handed over, the internal champions continued to train new starters and run refresher sessions.
Further reading
- AI Training & Workforce Development — the service that delivered this programme.
- Making Your Workforce AI-Ready — the thinking behind how we compress capability builds.
- Claims processing: 14 days to under 48 hours — a parallel governed-AI rollout in financial services.
Facing an Article 4 deadline?
We can shorten the timetable without cutting what matters. The training works because it is built around your people's real work, not generic lessons.
Start a conversation →