CNBC Africa · 7 Oct, 01:02 · Artificial Intelligence briefing

UAE trains 80,000 government workers as AI ‘super users’ as Ai Everything Abu Dhabi opens

The United Arab Emirates is launching a comprehensive initiative to train 80,000 government employees as AI ‘super users’.

What it means for you ↓ Courses for this story

25–40%salary premium for professionals with applied AI skills

11xgrowth in AI job adverts since 2019

66%of leaders won't hire without AI literacy

20days to your first credential

The briefing

The story
in brief.

What happened, who it affects, and why it landed on our intelligence desk — in plain English, sixty seconds or less.

The United Arab Emirates is launching a comprehensive initiative to train 80,000 government employees as AI ‘super users’. This programme coincides with the opening of Ai Everything Abu Dhabi, a new hub dedicated to artificial intelligence development and adoption. The strategy aims to embed AI capabilities deeply within public sector operations, ensuring civil servants can effectively leverage advanced technologies. By focusing on widespread workforce upskilling, the UAE seeks to enhance administrative efficiency and drive digital transformation across its government services. This move signals a significant national commitment to integrating AI into everyday professional workflows for public sector employees.

Employer demand for AI in Government skills — indexed growth since 2019
Indicative index of skill mentions in professional job postings for the field this story moves (2019 = 1)

Your move

What this means
for your career.

Every headline redistributes opportunity. Here is who this one rewards — and how to be on the right side of it.

This initiative signals that AI literacy is no longer optional; it is a baseline requirement for modern professional competence. You must move beyond passive consumption of technology to active, strategic application. Professionals in public administration, policy, and operations should prioritise understanding how AI augments decision-making and process optimisation. Your next step is to master prompt engineering and data interpretation, ensuring you can collaborate effectively with AI tools. Identify workflows in your current role that are ripe for automation or enhancement. By positioning yourself as an AI-savvy practitioner, you future-proof your career against obsolescence. Focus on developing the critical thinking skills needed to validate AI outputs, as technical proficiency alone will soon be insufficient for career advancement in an increasingly automated landscape.

For this story, the fields that convert it into pay are AI in Government, Artificial Intelligence, Public Administration and Data Science — exactly the programmes matched below. The chart shows the indicative salary uplift certified professionals report in each of those fields; every one of them is a click away, from £79, finishing in as few as 20 days.

Indicative salary uplift in the fields matched to this story
Indicative ranges from published continuing-education salary studies, by field — each field is a recommended course below

Matched to this story

Enrol in these
to benefit.

These programmes position you for exactly this shift — online, self-paced, and finishing with a verifiable certificate you can share the day you pass.