California launches GenAI training for state employees
For Immediate Release: July 31, 2024
Contact: camille.travis@calhr.ca.gov
What you need to know: As part of Governor Gavin Newsom’s generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) executive order, the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR) released the first GenAI training for state employees – the largest effort that any state has embarked on to help workers utilize this transformative technology.
SACRAMENTO, CA – California has released fundamental and technical GenAI training for state employees. This training will introduce core GenAI concepts and curriculum to the general state workforce and provide a foundation for how the technology may safely, ethically, and equitably function in the workplace. Released in July, the training will be continually updated with further content enhancements and to incorporate ongoing feedback from the state’s workforce.
“It is an exciting time because the state is embracing GenAI to help bolster the capabilities of state workers,” said CalHR Director Eraina Ortega. “We want our workforce to be prepared to lead into the future. The new training materials will provide information and development opportunities to employees to best serve Californians.”
The training materials will focus on the awareness of potential privacy, security and legal considerations while ensuring the state workforce is well skilled and prepared for GenAI and the opportunities to serve our state in a safe, secure and equitable way going forward. It will be tailored to three different audiences: general workforce, business leaders and technology experts.
WHY THIS MATTERS: It is important to provide workers the educational resources to continue learning about this emerging technology and help share the potential pitfalls and benefits that come with using it. The goal of the training is twofold: to build and prepare a GenAI ready workforce and to equip existing staff to use new tools effectively in their current roles or help prepare them for future advancement opportunities.
During the process of researching and deploying training, CalHR and the California Office of Data and Innovation (ODI) researched top roles, skills and knowledge needed for GenAI to help inform future training offerings.
“This collaborative effort to upskill our staff is empowering our state’s workforce with a new set of tools designed to drive more effective and equitable outcomes, while providing the high level of customer experience that Californians have come to expect of their government,” said ODI Director Jeffery Marino. “California is truly embarking on a transformative process.”
As part of the Governor’s Executive Order, CalHR, ODI and the California Department of Technology (CDT) defined a new learning pathway for state staff looking to build their careers, called the Foundations of GenAI certificate. The five courses in the series were selected based on research into top skills and knowledge necessary to safely deploy GenAI. These courses take learners on a
journey that will help them perform tasks related to emerging technologies and develop a product mindset and human-centered design approach, all while maintaining a focus on results for California.
CalHR collaborated with ODI, CDT and the Labor and Workforce Development Agency on the creation of the training. State employees, employee representative groups, academic and industry stakeholders, internal GenAI-related work groups and employee advocacy groups were also invited to provide feedback prior to the release of the training. Read the “Building a GenAI-Ready Workforce” report on the CDT website.
About CalHR
CalHR is responsible for all issues related to employee salaries and benefits, job classifications, civil rights, training, exams, recruitment and retention. For most employees, many of these matters are determined through the collective bargaining process managed by CalHR. For more information about CalHR, please visit our website.