A new AI Scholarship collaboration between Google and Bank of Ireland aims to plug the AI ‘fluency gap’ by offering practical, flexible training directly to Ireland’s commercial backbone, its SMEs.
SMEs across Ireland are being offered a practical, jargon-free path out of the digital margins.
The ThinkBusiness SME AI Academy provides Irish SMEs with a clear, jargon-free path to mastering generative AI by signing up for a Google AI Professional Certificate among SMEs.
“53% of Irish businesses using AI report experiencing productivity and efficiency gains since adopting the technology”
The eight-hour course, delivered through Coursera, also gives SMEs access to important tools such as Google AI Pro upon enrolment, with 90 days’ free access.
Up to 10,000 licenses are available to Irish SMEs
Through Bank of Ireland’s partnership with Google, the aim is to empower you and your staff to move beyond basic prompts to new capabilities like ‘Vibe Coding’ (coding and creating apps without writing a single line of code!) – equipping your business with the high-demand skills needed to scale faster, work smarter, and lead with an industry-recognised Google Coursera-certified edge.
👉 Ready to reclaim an extra day a week? Secure your scholarship to complete the certification at no cost. Apply now and get started!
The core proposition is built on time rather than theory. 53% of Irish businesses using AI report experiencing productivity and efficiency gains since adopting the technology.
Regional stats:
- Midlands: 73% of businesses report experiencing productivity or efficiency gains since starting to use AI
- Western Region: 60% of businesses report productivity or efficiency gains
- South Region: 59% of businesses report productivity and efficiency gains
For a lean, ambitious business owner, that extra day per week represents a significant dividend – the difference between working in the business and working on the business.
Closing the fluency gap
Despite the regular stream of headlines regarding automation, a stark mismatch between those using technology like AI and those that do not remains at the heart of Irish commerce.
This disconnect has created a critical ‘AI Fluency Gap’ that threatens to leave small firms vulnerable.
According to Amárach Research, 80% of Irish SMEs believe AI can positively impact their business and 65% expect AI to drive growth in 2026’
The Grow with Google mission is designed specifically to level this playing field. By making advanced tools and practical training available at no cost, the programme allows smaller, agile teams to move past simple online searches and basic prompt generation.
Crucially, the programme assumes zero corporate tech experience. The curriculum is built from the ground up to be accessible to a florist in Galway or a family-run manufacturer in Monaghan just as easily as a tech start-up in Dublin.
Real-world transformations
The initiative avoids abstract promises by anchoring its value in tangible, localised success stories.
In Ardnacrusha, Co Clare, skincare brand IPERA leveraged these specific tools to conduct deep market research and execute a brand overhaul. The shift allowed a boutique regional operation to generate professional product mock-ups and position itself on a global stage – all without the prohibitive fees of a traditional creative agency.
The efficiency gains extend deep into Ireland’s agricultural heartland as well. On the McNally Family Farm in Co Dublin, the historical challenge of managing unpredictable, unstructured agricultural data has met a modern solution. By utilising advanced modules to clean up backend numbers, the farm transforms chaotic production records into clear, actionable visual trends. This data-driven approach removes the guesswork from supply chains, giving a traditional family farm the analytical horsepower of a major logistics operator.
Further up the coast in Clare, Lahinch Surf Shop has demonstrated that digital transformation belongs as much on the boardwalk as it does in a corporate office. By using Gemini to create product ads based on the local weather forecast, the surf shop has made its marketing much easier. Instead of spending time manually writing posts, the shop can now automatically send out relevant ads as the weather changes. This lets the team focus on running the shop while still keeping their marketing professional and timely.
For lifestyle and food producers like BKultured in Co Cork, the technology has served a deeply scientific purpose that sets the brand apart in a competitive market. The business leverages generative models to rapidly extract and synthesise complex food science data, uncovering deep insights that would normally require days of academic research. By shifting this heavy analytical lift to an AI collaborator, the team reclaims vital hours to focus on physical product innovation and building face-to-face community connections.
A curriculum built for busy schedules
The ultimate barrier to entry for any business owner is time. To counter this, the resulting Google AI Professional Certificate is delivered via Coursera in a strictly modular, on-demand format.
The Time Commitment: The entire credential comprises seven distinct courses, taking roughly one hour each, allowing learners to complete the full pathway in under 10 hours total.
Practical Portfolios: Rather than enduring passive video lectures, participants complete over 20 hands-on, skill-building projects tailored to operational workflows.
Immediate Utility: The modules guide users directly through data analysis, professional communication, and building bespoke internal applications using plain English instead of programming languages.
Extended Toolkits: To ensure teams can fully implement what they learn, the scholarship includes a three-month extended trial of Google AI Pro at no cost, giving small businesses access to advanced deep-research capabilities.
The long-term dividend
At a time when business margins are facing consistent macroeconomic pressures, the ability to scale operations safely and confidently is paramount.
This programme provides an official, industry-recognised certification that serves a dual purpose: it optimises internal workflows while equipping staff with new capabilities, thereby boosting the employer brand of the participating SME.
By dedicating less than ten hours to structured up-skilling, Irish business owners can claim their share of the digital dividend, protect their margins, and future-proof their workforce at zero cost.
👉 Ready to reclaim an extra day a week? Secure your scholarship to complete the certification at no cost. Apply now and get started!
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