GCP – Beyond the basics: Build real-world gen AI skills with the latest learning paths from Google Cloud

The majority of organizations don’t feel ready for the AI era. In fact, 62% say they don’t have the expertise they need to unlock AI’s full potential.1 As the leader of learning for Google Cloud, the only thing that surprises me about that number is how low it is. I meet with customers every day, and 100% of them flag some kind of AI skills gap. 

Here’s the good news: that makes you — the developers, machine learning engineers, and data experts — invaluable. You are exactly the talent these organizations are looking for — but with the rate of change in AI, you have to stay on the cutting edge. A 2024 survey estimated that about 70% of AI talent needs to update their skills.2 And yet, many technical professionals don’t have the training they need to move from theory to practice and integrate AI into their everyday work. 

That’s why, today, I’m proud to share with you the latest learning offerings on generative AI from Google Cloud Skills Boost. Say hello to four new learning paths designed to equip developers with real-world generative AI skills to build applications, manage and secure machine learning models, generate impactful content, and analyze data like a pro. We’re talking in-depth courses that first guide you through building proficiency and then, ultimately, test your skills in a real-life challenge lab.

Get practical experience with gen AI use cases

Generative AI is powerful, but to actually see value from this technology in real-world use cases takes practical experience and technical knowledge. These new learning paths from Google Cloud, listed below, give you the generative AI skills you need to complete innovative work in your current roles — like improving customer experience or team productivity. This also opens up new career (and promotion) opportunities. Once you complete the hands-on training, you will receive a skill badge to showcase your expertise on your resume or social media channels: 

Learning Path: Build and modernize applications with generative AI: Learn how to enhance your projects and build end-to-end applications on Google Cloud with the power of generative AI. This path will guide you through essential techniques and tools to integrate gen AI capabilities seamlessly into your development workflow.

Learning Path: Integrate generative AI into your data workflow: Learn how to use BigQuery Machine Learning for inference, work directly with Gemini models in BigQuery, and enhance your data team’s efficiency with Gemini’s assistance. This path features a brand new course on boosting productivity with Gemini in BigQuery to aid in the data-to-AI pipeline.

Learning Path: Deploy and manage generative AI models: Learn how to manage the entire lifecycle of generative AI models, from development and deployment to monitoring — including introductions to responsible AI for developers. This path features a brand new course on security for AI models.

Learning Path: Generate smarter generative AI outputs: Learn how to build applications that generate text and visual content using generative AI. Develop an AI project on Google Cloud, use diffusion models for image generation, and build search applications with Vector Search and embeddings, then dive deeper into multimodal prompts and Multimodal RAG with Gemini.

Innovators get full, no-cost access to gen AI learning paths

Last year, we announced that every member of the Google Cloud Innovators community, our no-cost developer program, receives 35 unrestricted learning credits every month to use on courses and labs in Google Cloud Skills Boost. That’s enough to complete one of these new learning paths every month. Join Innovators today to activate your credits and start learning!

Innovators also get access to exclusive learning opportunities — like our latest challenge, AI Skills Quest, where you can immerse yourself in hands-on labs and earn skill AI badges alongside a cohort of like-minded peers.

The latest gen AI learning content — from security to productivity 

While you’re sharing your AI skills in the Innovators community, why not check out the very latest in learning? These new learning paths feature three brand new courses in security, data analytics and agent building — all hot off the presses in Google Cloud Skills Boost: 

Course: Introduction to security in the world of AI. Whether you’re a security engineer, an IT leader, an AI developer, or a less technical leader, this course will help you build a foundational understanding of Google’s approach to navigating the intersection of AI and security. 

Course: Boost productivity with Gemini in BigQuery. Accelerate your data-to-AI pipeline, write better code, and visualize workflows easily with Gemini in BigQuery. This course equips you or your team with practical skills to boost productivity and unlock the full potential of your data.

Course: Build generative AI agents with Vertex AI and Flutter. Whether you’re a seasoned app developer or just starting your journey with Flutter and Python, this course will help you build intelligent chat agents and fun, interactive experiences through generative AI. 

Go from gen AI theory to practice

Google has been at the forefront of AI innovation for over a decade. These learning paths are your direct line to that expertise, crafted by the very people who shaped the field. My team is committed to empowering you with the skills to lead in this exciting era. Because ultimately, we all have a shared goal: to build AI-driven solutions that are responsible, fun to use, and — above all — genuinely improve people’s lives. 

Join the Google Cloud Innovators program, get your 35 free credits every month, and dive head first into our new generative AI learning paths today.

1.  Help Net Security, “The cloud skills gap is digital transformation’s Achilles’ heel,” Nov 14, 2023
2. Pluralsight, “Pluralsight AI skills report,” 2024