EY launches AI Academy to upskill Australian workers

EY has launched an AI Academy in Australia, positioning it as a structured programme to help organisations lift workforce skills and put governance in place for the use of artificial intelligence at work.

The launch comes as many employers move beyond early trials and push for broader adoption across teams. A key challenge has been an uneven understanding of what AI can do and how staff should use it in day-to-day tasks.

EY cited findings from its Australian AI Workforce Blueprint, which found more than two-thirds of Australian office workers use AI, while only a third have received formal training from their employer. Daily AI users also reported saving four or more hours a week.

Role-based training

The EY AI Academy offers learning pathways from introductory material through to more advanced applications, tailored by role and industry. The content targets executives, people managers, technical specialists and frontline teams.

The academy combines training with practical adoption of AI tools in everyday workflows, aiming to shift AI from pilots into routine work. It also includes governance elements focused on responsible use.

The delivery model runs in phases, starting with an assessment of current skills, followed by an upskilling strategy. It then moves into co-design workshops and an ongoing implementation phase.

EY said its teams in Australia have already piloted the approach as part of major technology change programmes. In one unnamed Australian organisation rolling out an enterprise-wide AI solution, more than 3,600 people completed the training, with average confidence rising from 2.6 to 3.9.

Internal rollout

EY has also used the academy internally across its Oceania workforce. In 2025, more than 2,200 people completed AI learning pathways across the curriculum, and 2,491 hours of AI learning were delivered across the region.

An internal survey of employees using EY-approved AI tools found the strongest impact in what it described as high-friction workflows, including meeting minutes and action tracking, proposals, and quality assurance.

The academy draws on a library of more than 150 learning modules, plus more than 30 demos and hands-on exercises. EY also has a catalogue of more than 350 real-world use cases that can be tailored by role and industry.

The launch also comes amid heightened boardroom focus on AI controls, including risk management and consistent practices across teams. For many employers, the challenge has shifted from access to tools to staff readiness and the processes that support AI use.

EY framed this as a barrier to scaling AI across Australian workplaces, where teams can operate with different assumptions about what is acceptable, safe and useful. That can slow adoption, complicate oversight and increase the risk of inconsistent decision-making.

In large organisations, the use of AI often develops unevenly. Some teams experiment heavily, while others avoid it or use it without formal guidance. Employers are also weighing how to set common standards for prompts, data handling, review processes and escalation paths when outputs appear unreliable.

EY said the academy is designed to close knowledge gaps across staff levels and support a more consistent approach to day-to-day use. It also emphasised leadership communication as part of building trust in the technology.

EY Regional Chief Technology and Innovation Officer, Oceania, Katherine Boiciuc, said alignment across teams is a key issue at the current stage of AI adoption.

"Right now the biggest barrier to scaling AI in Australia is alignment. People have very different understandings of what AI does, how to use it safely, and apply it to day-to-day work. The EY AI Academy is designed to close that knowledge gap with practical learning and clear governance, so organisations can move faster with confidence."

Boiciuc said leadership engagement also shapes the extent to which AI is adopted.

"If organisations want AI to be trusted and adopted at scale, leaders need to listen, engage and communicate clearly how risks are being addressed. The EY AI Academy helps teams build real capability while embedding responsible AI practices from the outset."