Google opens free AI training to 650,000 UK and Ireland educators

The Google AI Educator Series is expanding across primary, secondary and Higher Education, with free 15 to 45-minute sessions covering classroom, administrative and responsible AI use

Google is expanding its free AI Educator Series to around 650,000 educators across the UK and Ireland. Image: Google

Google is expanding its AI Educator Series to around 650,000 educators across the UK and Ireland, offering free training designed to build practical AI literacy and confidence using tools including Gemini.

The program covers primary, secondary and Higher Education and can be completed through teacher-led virtual and in-person events or through self-paced sessions in the Google Learning Centre. Individual modules take between 15 and 45 minutes, with educators earning micro-credentials and badges after completing training.

Content ranges from foundational use of Gemini to pedagogical and administrative applications. Google says the sessions are designed around practical tasks such as creating lesson plans, adapting materials to different learning needs, supporting students and streamlining administrative work.

The UK and Ireland expansion follows an initial rollout to six million educators in the US, with the series subsequently extended to India and Korea.

From basic AI literacy to classroom use

Google is positioning the program as more than a general introduction to generative AI.

Its learning pathway includes foundational training for educators beginning to use AI, followed by sessions focused on teaching and learning, and on reducing administrative workload. Other areas include inclusive design, student support, agentic workflows and institutional use.

The company says the curriculum has been developed by educators and is intended to give teachers skills they can apply immediately rather than requiring lengthy technical training.

Google also points to research from Public First which found that 74% of roles in the UK education sector have the potential to be enhanced by AI. That figure represents potential rather than measured productivity gains, but forms part of Google's wider case for increasing AI skills training across the workforce.

Educators completing the series will also count toward the UK government's goal of training 10 million workers in digital skills by 2030, according to Google.

Google has already been testing AI upskilling in UK schools

The nationwide expansion follows earlier work with UK multi-academy trusts to examine how confidence and trust affect AI adoption among education staff.

Google previously launched an AI Works pilot with Lift Schools and LEO Academy Trust, with 150 education professionals from 14 schools taking part in hands-on workshops and one-to-one training.

The pilot focused on whether greater confidence with AI could help staff use the technology for tasks including lesson planning, adapting learning materials and administration.

James Browning, Chief Operating Officer at Lift Schools, wrote at the time that the trust's approach was about using AI to support teachers rather than automate their role.

“AI will assist in tasks like resource creation and lesson planning, but it is the teachers who will continue to interpret, inspire, and guide their students towards success,” he wrote.

Google said the pilot was intended to generate lessons that could inform wider AI adoption across education and other parts of the UK workforce.

School leaders get separate AI policy support

Alongside the educator training, Google has partnered with the National Governance Association to develop an AI Policy Toolkit for school governors and trustees.

The toolkit is intended to support decisions around AI policy, tools and training as schools work through questions around responsible adoption.

The AI Educator Series is available at no cost, with sessions offered online, through facilitated events and through Google's Learning Centre. Google is also running a Google for Education Gemini Roadshow with upcoming Educator Series events in the UK and Ireland.