# Upskilling the Public Workforce on AI > Government · AI Course · GOV-8 > Source: https://ibl.ai/solutions/government/course/upskilling-public-workforce-on-ai > Last updated: 2026-08-25 **Train government employees at scale — role-based curricula, union and civil service considerations, and the security training that has to come first.** ## The Short Answer **Public sector AI training runs into civil service classifications, union consultation, and a security baseline that must come first. ibl.ai supports agency training on infrastructure the agency controls with no per-seat pricing, where you own all the code and the data — so staff can practise on real agency material rather than sanitized examples.** On ibl.ai you own all the code and the data, run it model-agnostic across any LLM, and pay with no per-seat pricing — so you can deploy anywhere, from your own cloud to a fully air-gapped network. [Request Access](https://ibl.ai/contact) · [Explore Government](https://ibl.ai/solutions/government) ## Course facts - **Level:** Foundational - **Duration:** 5 hours across 8 modules - **Format:** Program design workshop - **Modules:** 8 - **Catalog code:** GOV-8 - **Frameworks covered:** NIST AI RMF, Federal workforce policy, Civil service rules ## What is this course about? Public sector AI training has constraints private programs do not: civil service classifications, union consultation, and a security baseline that must precede any tool access. This course builds a role-based program on those constraints, prioritizes internal capacity over contractor dependence, and measures capability rather than course completion. ## Who is this course for? - Agency training and workforce development leads - Human capital officers - Union representatives participating in consultation - Program managers sponsoring AI adoption ### What do I need before starting? - Responsibility for workforce development in a public agency - No technical background required ## What will I be able to do afterwards? - Define baseline AI literacy for every employee - Build role-based tracks for analysts, caseworkers, IT, and leadership - Sequence security training ahead of any tool access - Handle union consultation and civil service implications properly - Measure capability rather than course completion ## What does each module cover? ### Module 1 — What baseline should every employee have? The minimum literacy that applies regardless of role, including what not to put in a prompt. _(40 min)_ **Objectives** - Define the universal baseline - Include the data handling rules everyone needs - Keep the baseline short enough to be mandatory **Topics:** Universal baseline · Data handling rules · Prompt hygiene · Mandatory scope **Activity:** Draft the baseline curriculum and time it against a realistic mandatory training slot. ### Module 2 — Why does security training come first? The sequencing rule — nobody gets tool access before the data handling training. _(40 min)_ **Objectives** - Sequence security training ahead of access - Cover the agency-specific data handling rules - Enforce the sequence technically rather than by policy **Topics:** Sequencing · Data handling · Technical enforcement · Access gating **Activity:** Design the access gate that enforces training completion before tool access. ### Module 3 — What do analysts and caseworkers each need? Role-based tracks built from what each role actually does, not from seniority. _(50 min)_ **Objectives** - Build tracks from real role workflows - Differentiate by task rather than grade - Keep each track within available training time **Topics:** Role workflow analysis · Task-based differentiation · Time constraints · Track design **Activity:** Build one role track derived from a real day's work in that role. ### Module 4 — What does leadership need to know? A leadership track covering governance obligations, not tool usage. _(40 min)_ **Objectives** - Define leadership-specific content - Cover governance and accountability obligations - Make the leadership track mandatory **Topics:** Leadership content · Governance obligations · Accountability · Mandatory participation **Activity:** Design the leadership track and its governance component. ### Module 5 — How do you handle union consultation? Consultation obligations and how to run them so the program improves rather than stalls. _(45 min)_ **Objectives** - Identify consultation obligations - Engage representatives early and substantively - Address job security concerns directly **Topics:** Consultation obligations · Early engagement · Job security concerns · Agreement documentation **Activity:** Prepare the consultation package and rehearse the hardest questions. ### Module 6 — How do you build internal capacity? Developing agency trainers rather than recurring contractor spend. _(45 min)_ **Objectives** - Design a train-the-trainer model - Select and develop internal trainers - Plan the transition off contractor delivery **Topics:** Train-the-trainer · Trainer selection · Capacity building · Contractor transition **Activity:** Design the internal trainer development path with a transition timeline. ### Module 7 — How do you measure capability, not completion? Assessment that shows whether staff can do the work, which completion rates never do. _(40 min)_ **Objectives** - Design capability-based assessment - Collect work products rather than quiz scores - Report honestly to leadership **Topics:** Capability assessment · Work product collection · Honest reporting · Completion rate limits **Activity:** Design the capability assessment for one role track. ### Module 8 — Building the agency training plan The workshop module: a complete plan with tracks, sequencing, and consultation. _(50 min)_ **Objectives** - Assemble the complete training plan - Sequence delivery across the agency - Build the capability measurement in **Topics:** Plan assembly · Delivery sequencing · Measurement integration · Sustainment **Activity:** Assemble the plan and check it against real training time availability. ## What is the capstone project? **Agency AI workforce development plan.** Produce a complete training plan: universal baseline with security sequencing enforced technically, role-based tracks derived from real workflows, a mandatory leadership track, a completed union consultation package, an internal trainer path, and capability-based measurement. _Deliverable:_ A training plan with a consultation package and capability assessments ready to deliver. ## How are learners assessed? - Access gate demonstrated blocking a user who has not completed security training - Role tracks reviewed by staff actually in those roles - Capability assessment tested — does it distinguish competent from not? ## What ships with the course? - **Facilitator guide.** Session-by-session running order, discussion prompts, and the questions that reliably derail a room. - **Learner workbook.** Exercises, checklists, and the templates each module's activity produces. - **Hands-on lab environment.** A sandboxed ibl.ai deployment so exercises run against real agents, not screenshots. - **Assessment bank.** Scenario questions and rubric criteria mapped to each stated learning outcome. - **Source bibliography.** Every primary regulation and standard cited on this page, linked and dated. ## Which AI agents does this course use? - [Employee Training Agent](https://ibl.ai/solutions/government/agent/employee-training-agent) - [HR Agent](https://ibl.ai/solutions/government/agent/hr-agent) - [Onboarding Agent](https://ibl.ai/solutions/government/agent/onboarding-agent) - [Security Agent](https://ibl.ai/solutions/government/agent/security-agent) ## Where does the course material come from? Every module is grounded in primary sources — the regulation, standard, or research itself, not a summary of it. Each was resolved at authoring time. - [AI Guide for Government](https://coe.gsa.gov/coe/ai-guide-for-government/) — GSA Centers of Excellence. Federal guidance on workforce preparation for AI. - [Artificial Intelligence](https://www.cisa.gov/ai) — CISA. Security training content underpinning the Module 2 baseline. - [AI Risk Management Framework](https://www.nist.gov/itl/ai-risk-management-framework) — NIST. Governance content for the leadership track. - [Government Accountability Office](https://www.gao.gov/) — GAO. Federal workforce capability assessment methodology. ## Delivery notes Binding guidance for anyone preparing and delivering this course: - Module 5 must treat job security concerns as legitimate. Public sector workforces have specific and reasonable anxieties about automation, and a program that dismisses them will not survive consultation. - The technical access gate in Module 2 matters more than the policy. Policy-only sequencing gets bypassed and the training that prevents data spillage is exactly the training that must not be skipped. - Civil service and union rules vary by jurisdiction. Localize Module 5 substantially rather than teaching a generic consultation process. - Module 6's contractor transition is the fiscal argument that gets the program funded. Make the cost comparison explicit. - Coordinate with GOV-6 — the leadership track's governance content should come from the governance program rather than being written twice. ## Why run AI training on a platform you own? - **You own the course, not a licence to it.** Course content, learner data, and the platform run inside your perimeter — you own all the code and the data. - **Model-agnostic delivery.** Run the course's AI components on any LLM — Claude, GPT, Llama, Gemini, Command — and switch anytime. - **No per-seat training licences.** Usage-based or self-hosted, so cost tracks actual use rather than headcount. - **Deploy anywhere.** Cloud, private VPC, on-premise, or fully air-gapped — including for cohorts that cannot use public AI tools. ## Frequently asked questions ### What does the Upskilling the Public Workforce on AI course cover? Public sector AI training has constraints private programs do not: civil service classifications, union consultation, and a security baseline that must precede any tool access. This course builds a role-based program on those constraints, prioritizes internal capacity over contractor dependence, and measures capability rather than course completion. It runs 5 hours across 8 modules across 8 modules, at foundational level, and closes with a capstone: Agency AI workforce development plan. ### Who should take Upskilling the Public Workforce on AI? It is written for Agency training and workforce development leads, Human capital officers, Union representatives participating in consultation, Program managers sponsoring AI adoption. Prerequisites: Responsibility for workforce development in a public agency; No technical background required. ### Can we run this course on our own infrastructure? Yes. ibl.ai is model-agnostic and deploy-anywhere — cloud, private VPC, on-premise, or fully air-gapped — and you own all the code and the data. Cohort data, submissions, and any material learners upload stay inside your perimeter, which matters for government teams that cannot send work to a public AI tool. ### How do we get access to Upskilling the Public Workforce on AI? Request access and we will set it up for your cohort — hosted by ibl.ai, or running against your own deployment. Tell us the group size and timing you need, and whether it should run inside your own perimeter. ### How much does AI training for government cost on ibl.ai? There is no per-seat pricing — you pay for usage or self-host and pay only for the infrastructure, so a 5,000-person rollout does not cost 5,000 licences. 1.6M+ users across 400+ organizations run the platform this way, including NVIDIA, MIT, and Syracuse University. ## More Government courses - [Getting an AI System Authorized: FedRAMP and NIST 800-53](https://ibl.ai/solutions/government/course/authorizing-ai-fedramp-nist-800-53): The authorization path for AI in a federal or state agency — control selection, boundary definition, and why an LLM complicates the system security plan. - [Sovereign and Air-Gapped AI for Public Agencies](https://ibl.ai/solutions/government/course/sovereign-air-gapped-ai-public-agencies): Run capable AI with no internet egress — model selection, air-gapped update paths, and the operational realities of a disconnected deployment. - [Citizen Service Agents: Design, Escalation, and Accessibility](https://ibl.ai/solutions/government/course/citizen-service-agents): Public-facing AI where the user has no alternative provider — plain language, Section 508 conformance, language access, and escalation that never traps a constituent. - [AI in Public Procurement: Writing an RFP That Gets Real Bids](https://ibl.ai/solutions/government/course/ai-in-public-procurement): Specify AI in a solicitation so you get comparable, honest proposals — required disclosures, evaluation criteria, and contract terms that preserve agency control. - [Records, FOIA, and AI: Retention When an Agent Writes](https://ibl.ai/solutions/government/course/records-foia-and-ai): What happens to public records law when an AI drafts the memo — retention, prompt logs as records, and responding to a request that reaches an AI system. - [AI Governance Inside a Public Agency](https://ibl.ai/solutions/government/course/ai-governance-public-agency): Stand up an agency AI governance program — inventory, use-case review board, impact assessment, and public transparency reporting.