A growing number of employees across the UAE are enrolling in generative AI training programmes as workplaces accelerate their adoption of advanced technologies and pressure mounts for workers to acquire new skills. Industry executives say the trend is being driven both by employee ambition and significant corporate investment in training.
Greg Hart, global CEO of Coursera, said interest in GenAI learning has risen sharply worldwide — and the UAE is among the fastest-growing markets. “So far this year, we are seeing an average globally of 14 enrollments per minute in GenAI content, up from eight per minute a year ago and one per minute in 2023,” he said. “We’ve had 131,000 enrollments in GenAI-related content in the UAE. That’s more than doubled over the past year.”
Coursera has recorded more than 3 million total enrollments from the UAE, including 165,000 in the third quarter of 2025. Across the Middle East and North Africa, registered users now stand at 12.1 million, an 18 per cent year-on-year increase.
To meet rising demand, Coursera has expanded its GenAI catalogue to more than 1,100 courses. Hart said employees are now expected to understand how AI can be applied directly to their day-to-day responsibilities. “AI is transforming aspects of jobs,” he said in an interview during his visit to the UAE for the Coursera Connect conference. “Specific tasks can now be done by AI, which frees up time and resources for workers to focus on higher-level tasks.”
Executives say the shift is reshaping how companies plan for the future. Abinav Raja, managing director of Ramco Systems, said businesses are placing greater emphasis on rapid implementation of AI tools. “People will see a lot of companies focusing on the speed of implementation, and that makes it easier to try new products,” he said.
Ramco Systems COO Sandesh Bilagi noted that government entities are leading the charge, but private-sector firms are also making substantial investments. He rejected the idea that AI will trigger widespread job losses in the UAE, describing such fears as temporary. “Companies here are asking not about how to reduce the workforce, but how to make their life better and give them the tools to perform better,” he said.
Hart echoed this assessment, saying the UAE is “leaning into the opportunity” of emerging technologies through initiatives such as the UAE AI Strategy 2031, which aims to build a future-ready national workforce.
A recent World Economic Forum report estimates that by 2030, 46 per cent of the UAE workforce will need retraining as core job skills shift. Industry leaders say that makes sustained investment in upskilling essential — and the rapid rise in GenAI course registrations suggests employees are responding to the urgency of that challenge.
