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AI Essentials · 1 Module · 8 Hours

Know what AI is, why it matters, and how to put it to work today.

AI Essentials Course

Before you can use AI tools confidently, you need to understand what AI actually is, how it makes decisions, what it can and cannot do, and where it already fits into business and workplace life. This one-day course builds that foundation: practical AI literacy grounded in real business applications, hands-on GenAI practice, critical output evaluation, and ethical awareness.

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What's included

8 hours of instructor-led hands-on training
Industry practitioner trainer
Alumni community access
Post-training mentoring and support

Course Description

What is This Course About?

AI is no longer a specialist technology. It shapes how emails are drafted, how customer queries are answered, how business decisions are supported, and how entire workflows are automated. Yet most professionals who are expected to work alongside AI tools have never been given a clear explanation of what AI actually is, how it works at a conceptual level, what it is good at, where it falls short, and how to evaluate whether an AI output can be trusted.

This course fills that gap. AI Essentials is a one-day, non-technical introduction to artificial intelligence designed specifically for business professionals and working adults. It builds the foundational knowledge and practical readiness that every other module in the Certified AI Practitioner (Business and Work Applications) 2.0 programme depends on.

Rather than focusing on tools for their own sake, AI Essentials anchors every concept in real workplace contexts: how AI already operates behind the systems professionals use every day, how to identify where AI can genuinely improve productivity and decision-making, how to use GenAI tools to complete real workplace tasks through guided hands-on practice, how to recognise and manage the risks of relying on AI outputs, and how to communicate about AI clearly with colleagues and stakeholders.

Learners leave with a coherent mental model of AI, hands-on experience using GenAI tools, the critical evaluation skills to assess any AI output, and the foundational readiness to move into deeper GenAI tool application in Module 2.

See It for Yourself

Hear From The Trainer

Tat Yuen walks through how to move from passively experimenting with AI to using it with real structure and purpose, what AI and machine learning can and cannot do, and how to apply the right tool to the right task at work.

Not ready to register yet? Have questions first? Fill in the form to speak to a consultant. Our course consultants will be more than happy to assist you.

Target Audience

Who This Course Is For

Business professionals and working adults who use digital tools at work and want to understand what AI is, how it functions, and how to start using it effectively in their role
Managers and team leads who need to make informed decisions about AI adoption, evaluate AI-generated outputs, or brief teams on the responsible use of AI at work
Marketing, operations, HR, finance, and administrative professionals who are encountering AI tools in their workflows and want a clear conceptual foundation and practical starting point
Individuals beginning the Certified AI Practitioner (Business and Work Applications) 2.0 programme who need a structured starting point before progressing to GenAI tools, Prompt Engineering, and Agentic AI
Anyone who has used AI tools casually and wants to develop a more confident, informed, and critical understanding of what AI can and cannot do

Prerequisites

What You’ll Need to Get Started

No technical background, programming knowledge, or prior AI experience is required. Participants should have:

Basic computer literacy and comfort using modern web applications, browsers, and productivity tools in a workplace setting
A willingness to engage with concepts through discussion, live demonstrations, and hands-on practice in a collaborative classroom setting

This is the entry point of the Certified AI Practitioner programme. No prior module completion is required.

Course Highlights

What You’ll Learn

In this AI Essentials course, you will:

Understand what artificial intelligence is, how it works conceptually, and how it differs from traditional rule-based software
Explore how different types of AI are applied in business and workplace contexts, and identify where AI is already operating in the tools you use every day
Apply a structured framework to evaluate whether a task or workflow is appropriate for AI assistance, and map AI applications across your own industry and function
Get hands-on with GenAI tools, including ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini: write basic prompts, complete real workplace tasks, and evaluate the outputs produced
Assess AI outputs critically: recognising hallucinations, bias, and the limits of AI accuracy using a structured five-point evaluation checklist
Understand the ethical responsibilities, data privacy obligations, and communication skills that govern responsible AI use at work

Course Objectives

What You’ll Take Away

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

Define artificial intelligence, explain how machine learning systems learn from data, and describe the key differences between AI types and their business applications
Identify real workplace scenarios where AI is already in use and evaluate the appropriateness of AI for specific tasks, decisions, and workflows using a structured assessment framework
Implement basic prompts using AI tools to complete workplace tasks, and evaluate the quality and suitability of AI-generated outputs for professional use
Assess AI-generated outputs for accuracy, reliability, and potential bias, and apply critical evaluation skills to determine when an output is trustworthy and when human review is required
Explain the ethical considerations, data privacy obligations, and responsible use principles that govern AI deployment in a professional context
Communicate clearly and confidently about AI capabilities and limitations with colleagues, managers, and stakeholders

Skills Gained

AI Literacy

Explain what AI is, how machine learning works, and how different AI types differ in their capabilities and workplace applications

Workplace AI Identification

Recognise where AI is already embedded in business tools and systems, and map AI applications to relevant functions and industries

Task and Workflow Evaluation

Apply a structured framework to assess whether a task or decision is appropriate for AI assistance, and identify where human judgment must be retained

GenAI Tool Use and Prompting

Use ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini to complete workplace tasks by writing and refining basic prosmpts, and evaluate the outputs produced for professional suitability

Output Evaluation and Critical Thinking

Assess AI-generated outputs for accuracy, reliability, and potential hallucination or bias, and determine when additional human review is warranted

Ethical and Responsible AI Use

Identify the ethical considerations, data privacy obligations, and responsible use principles relevant to AI use in a professional context

AI Communication

Discuss AI capabilities and limitations clearly and confidently with colleagues, managers, and non-technical stakeholders

Certification Pathway

Get Certified

This course is Module 1 of the Certified AI-Practitioner (Business & Work Applications) Programme.

1Module 1: AI EssentialsYou are here

2Module 2: Generative AI (ChatGPT, Gemini, and Popular AI Tools)

3Module 3: Prompt Engineering

4Module 4: Agentic AI

A Certificate of Completion by Equinet Academy will be awarded to candidates who have demonstrated competency in the AI Essentials course assessment and achieved at least 75% attendance. Completing all four modules qualifies learners for the Certified AI Practitioner (Business and Work Applications) certification.

Course Outline

Inside The Course

The course is structured across five learning units that progress from foundational understanding through to hands-on implementation, critical evaluation, and responsible practice. Morning sessions build the conceptual AI framework across three topics. After lunch, learners apply a structured task evaluation framework, get hands-on with GenAI tools through guided prompting practice, develop critical output evaluation skills, and close with responsible use and communication before the assessment.

What AI Is and How It Works

Instructor-Led • Interactive presentation • Explicit teaching (Lecture) & Homework • Demonstrations / Modelling • Discussions • Problem solving

What is AI – from rule-based systems to machine learning: how AI differs from traditional software, how machine learning systems learn from data, and the distinction between narrow AI and general AI
Types of AI and their business applications: Natural Language Processing, Computer Vision, Recommendation Systems, Predictive Analytics, and Generative AI – what each does and where each appears in workplace tools and industries
How AI already works in the workplace: mapping the AI layer inside everyday tools including email, calendar, CRM, and customer service platforms, with a hands-on exercise identifying AI types in tools learners use at work

Where AI Adds Value - and Where It Does Not

Instructor-Led • Interactive presentation • Explicit teaching (Lecture) & Homework • Demonstrations / Modelling • Discussions • Problem solving

AI task suitability and evaluation framework: four characteristics of AI-appropriate tasks versus four characteristics of human-essential tasks, and the four-question structured framework for assessing any task or workflow – applied to real workplace scenarios with trainer modelling and a paired exercise
Industry and function mapping: AI applications and human-essential limits across Marketing, Operations, HR, Finance, Customer Service, and Administration, with a hands-on exercise where learners identify one AI-appropriate task and one human-essential task from their own role

Hands-On Practice with Generative AI Tools

Instructor-Led • Interactive presentation • Demonstrations / Modelling • Problem solving

Getting started with GenAI tools and prompt fundamentals: navigating ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini as workplace tools, understanding what each is best suited for, and prompt structure fundamentals for common workplace tasks such as drafting emails, summarising documents, and generating ideas
Hands-on GenAI practice session: learners complete three structured workplace tasks using a GenAI tool of their choice, apply a basic prompt-writing checklist, iterate on outputs to improve quality, and evaluate each result for accuracy and suitability before professional use

Evaluating AI Outputs Critically

Instructor-Led • Interactive presentation • Explicit teaching (Lecture) & Homework • Demonstrations / Modelling • Discussions • Drill and Practice • Problem solving

What AI outputs are and how they fail: how generative AI produces text through probabilistic generation rather than fact retrieval, and three AI output failure modes demonstrated with real examples – hallucinations, dataset bias, and outdated information – with one detection technique and the five-point output review checklist introduced for each
Output evaluation in practice: hands-on drill applying the five-point checklist to three AI-generated workplace documents each containing deliberate errors, paired review on issues and recommended actions, and class debrief on what structured evaluation catches that casual reading misses

Responsible AI Use in the Workplace

Instructor-Led • Interactive presentation • Explicit teaching (Lecture) & Homework • Discussions • Reflection

Ethics, fairness, data privacy, and responsible AI use: three ethical dimensions of professional AI use, three data privacy rules for workplace AI, and scenario walkthrough distinguishing appropriate from inappropriate AI data use
Communicating and applying AI at work: how to explain AI capabilities and limitations to colleagues, managers, and stakeholders, reflection exercise drafting a key message, and programme preview connecting today’s foundations to Modules 2, 3, and 4

Assessment Methods

Case Study Written Assessment
Individual Project Presentation

Trainers

Meet Your Educators

Tat Yuen

30+ Years of Experience in Enterprise TechnologyACLP-Certified TrainerClients include organisations operating on Oracle, Informix, and Salesforce platforms.

Course Fee

Fund Your Brain Gain

Gain practical skills and resources you can apply immediately at work.

Module	includes	Investment
AI Essentials	~~S$499.00~~	From S$239.20 excl. GST(GST Absorbed)

Course Schedule

Mark Your Calendar!

Discover course schedules crafted with you in mind, structured for balance, driven by your goals, ready for action.

Duration: 1 Day (8 Hours)

Learning Mode	Course Dates	Duration	Trainer
In-Person	11 Aug 2026 Tue	9.00am - 6.00pm	Tat YuenApply Now
In-Person	8 Oct 2026 Thu	9.00am - 6.00pm	Tat YuenApply Now
In-Person	3 Dec 2026 Thu	9.00am - 6.00pm	Tat YuenApply Now

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The Need-to-Know Stuff, Fast

Everything you need to know about the course. Can’t find the answer you’re looking for? Please contact our friendly team.

Is this course suitable for someone with no technical background?

Yes. AI Essentials is specifically designed for non-technical business professionals. There is no mathematics, coding, or programming involved. All concepts are explained using workplace examples and plain language.

Do I need to complete this module before the others in the Certified AI Practitioner programme?

Yes. AI Essentials is the foundational module of the programme. The conceptual framework and vocabulary it establishes are assumed in every subsequent module, starting with Module 2: Generative AI Applications.

Will I get hands-on practice with AI tools in this course?

Yes. LU3 is dedicated to hands-on practice with GenAI tools including ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. Learners write and refine basic prompts for real workplace tasks and evaluate the outputs produced. The conceptual foundation in LU1 and the task evaluation framework in LU2 are covered first so that learners arrive at the hands-on session with the judgment to use these tools effectively.

What does the assessment involve?

The assessment has two parts: a 45-minute open-book written assessment with structured questions covering all five learning units, and a 15-minute individual presentation where each learner presents an applied AI evaluation for a workplace scenario from their own professional context.

How does this course relate to the rest of the Certified AI Practitioner programme?

AI Essentials builds the foundation that every other module depends on. Module 2 extends GenAI tool use into the full range of workplace applications. Module 3 develops systematic prompt engineering. Module 4 moves into agentic AI deployment. Each module assumes the literacy, evaluation skills, and basic prompting practice developed here.

Is the course delivered in-person or online?

AI Essentials is delivered in-person as a classroom facilitated training session. This allows for the group discussions, live demonstrations, hands-on tool practice, and collaborative activities that make the content practical and relevant.