One Canadian company found the spotlight in a new report from Business at OECD.
Business at OECD, or BIAC, is the officially recognized institutional business stakeholder at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, founded in 1961 to stimulate global economic progress and trade.
BIAC’s report, entitled “Boosting Productivity and Business Growth – the Role of Artificial Intelligence Skills,” provides a global analysis of the current state of AI skills development across both public and private sectors amid rapidly transforming industries.
“The integration of AI skills across diverse sectors is crucial for driving productivity and innovation in today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape,” says Nicole Primmer, who serves as Deputy Executive Director of Policy and Strategic Engagement for Business.
Within the report, Vancouver-based TELUS is featured as a case study.
For example, TELUS garnered praise and attention for its “Data & AI Literacy Program.” Launched by the company’s Data & Trust Office in 2021, the program equips employees with skills to navigate AI in their daily roles. Available to employees across various levels, the program offers interactive sessions, multimedia resources, and curated courses covering foundational data and AI concepts.
“TELUS has long recognized the value of advancing the data and AI skills of our team members to enable safe innovation with data in a way that benefits our customers, communities, and business,” commented Pam Snively, Chief Data & Trust Officer at TELUS.
“With technology advancement happening so quickly, data and AI literacy—alongside robust data governance and respect for privacy—are non-negotiables [sic] if we want to unlock AI’s potential and drive productivity in a trustworthy way,” Snively continued. “We’re proud to share our insights with the OECD and contribute to AI policy discussions.”
TELUS also emphasizes “Soft skills” in the workplace, or what they refer to as “keeping humans in the loop.” Soft skills, including emotional intelligence, can help differentiate a brand in a competitive marketplace.
In addition, the B.C. company was noted for using AI to drive value across verticals, including predictive tech for TELUS Health as well as Gen AI customer support tools.
“We appreciate TELUS’ commitment to AI literacy and responsible implementation as a best practice fostering AI skills that boost productivity, while addressing ethical considerations,” Primmer stated. “Their emphasis on a diversity of skills also shows how AI may serve to enhance creativity and strategic thinking [and] their approach importantly highlights how business is making efforts to empower their workforce to harness AI’s potential responsibly and effectively.”
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