Google and Bank of Ireland offer 10,000 AI certificate scholarships to Irish SMEs

The Grow with Google partnership gives eligible Bank of Ireland SME customers funded access to the Google AI Professional Certificate, with training focused on practical workplace use.

Google Ireland and Bank of Ireland are offering up to 10,000 fully funded Google AI Professional Certificate scholarships to eligible Irish SMEs.

Google Ireland and Bank of Ireland have partnered to offer up to 10,000 fully funded scholarships for the Google AI Professional Certificate to Bank of Ireland SME customers, in a workforce skills push aimed at helping Irish small and medium-sized businesses use AI in daily operations.

The scholarships are available through the Grow with Google program and cover the cost of the Google AI Professional Certificate, delivered through Coursera. The training is aimed at non-technical professionals and can be completed online, asynchronously and at the learner’s own pace.

Vanessa Hartley, VP, EMEA LCS and Head of Google Ireland, announced the partnership in a LinkedIn post and said it was designed to give businesses practical AI skills rather than “heavy theory.”

Hartley said: “We’re launching this partnership to provide Irish businesses with the practical skills they need to integrate AI directly into their daily operations.”

The ThinkBusiness FAQ said there are “up to 10,000 licenses available for businesses and their staff.” The program includes seven courses, more than 20 activities and 90 days of extended access to Google AI Pro at no cost.

Training aimed at non-technical workers

The Google AI Professional Certificate is being positioned as a practical course for business owners and employees who do not have a background in coding or computer science.

The ThinkBusiness FAQ said the curriculum is “explicitly built for non-technical professionals” and uses “everyday conversational English” to help learners apply AI to workplace tasks such as data entry, client reports and marketing collateral.

The course is structured around seven modules that can each be completed in about an hour. The full certificate can be completed in less than 10 hours, according to the FAQ.

The scholarship covers the full cost of the Coursera program and the Google AI Professional Certificate for eligible Irish SMEs and their employees. Learners who complete all seven courses receive a Google certificate.

ThinkBusiness says the offer has “no hidden fees or catch,” describing it as “a direct investment in national digital literacy.”

No previous AI experience is required. The first course is designed to give learners a foundation in AI skills before moving into workplace uses such as research, writing, data analysis and app building.

Seven courses cover research, writing, data and app building

The certificate starts with AI Fundamentals, which covers essential AI concepts and prompting. Later modules focus on using AI for brainstorming, planning, research, writing, communication, content creation, data analysis and app building.

For research and insights, learners are introduced to tools including Deep Research and NotebookLM to generate summaries, pressure test ideas and support decision-making. The writing and communication module covers turning rough notes into messages for different stakeholders and preparing for presentations by anticipating questions and concerns.

The content creation module focuses on images, video and presentations. The data analysis course covers unstructured data, visualization, formulas and Gemini in Google Sheets.

The app-building module introduces “vibe coding,” positioning app creation as a practical workplace skill for non-technical employees. The training is designed to help staff build simple custom tools for repetitive tasks without writing code.

Hartley said participants will also receive “a ready-to-use digital toolkit tailored to your business to help automate invoices, admin, and correspondence.”

Google AI Pro access included

The scholarship includes three months of extended access to Google AI Pro, giving participating SMEs time to apply the training inside their own workflows after completing the certificate.

Hartley said the package includes “3 months of extended access to Google AI Pro to experiment,” alongside a digital toolkit designed to help businesses automate tasks such as invoices, admin and correspondence.

ThinkBusiness says the Google AI Pro access is intended to help teams “smoothly deploy what they learn,” including use of deep-research capabilities and text and image tools inside daily workspace applications.

Registration is open to eligible Bank of Ireland SME customers and takes less than two minutes, according to ThinkBusiness. Hartley thanked Laura Lynch and the teams involved in bringing what she called a “first of kind partnership in Ireland to life.”