In case you somehow missed it, this year’s Dreamforce was all about Agentforce. If you thought that Salesforce had already put all its chips into AI, then last week was certainly a surprise!
In addition to the multiple announcements regarding the new Agentforce platform, Salesforce has announced that they’ll be offering free premium instructor-led courses, as well as AI certifications throughout 2025. Here’s what we know…
Addressing the Growing AI Skills Gap
In order to support the current and upcoming wave of AI tools and implementations, Salesforce has announced that they’re investing $50M into initiatives designed to upskill workforces in a bid to address the AI skills gap.
This includes offering a mixture of virtual, hands-on workshops, instructor-led courses, and free AI certification exams.
Virtual, Hands-On Workshops
Starting November 2024, Salesforce plans to offer the following virtual hands-on workshops:
- How to Build Your First Agent
- Run Your Sales Organization Using Agentforce Sales Agents
- Run Your Service Organization Using Agentforce Service Agents
- Get Started with Copilot
- Get Started with Prompt Builder
Salesforce have made it clear that this will be a limited-time offer, offered from November 1st, 2024 to December 31st, 2025. Be sure to check out the full list of eligibility requirements on the Trailhead FAQ page.
Instructor-Led Courses
Also starting in November, Trailhead will introduce a new three-day instructor-led course that teaches attendees how to use out-of-the-box Salesforce AI products, including Agentforce.
These courses will be taught in person in Salesforce’s AI Centres in San Francisco and London, with additional locations opening in the AMER and APAC regions. They will be offered once in San Francisco and once in London, each quarter.
Salesforce have, once again, made it clear that this will be a limited-time offer, offered from November 1st, 2024 to December 31st, 2025. Be sure to check out the full list of eligibility requirements on the Trailhead FAQ page.
Free AI Certifications
Last but not least, the AI Associate and AI Specialist certification exams are available for free starting September 23, 2024, through December 31, 2025.
If you’ve already registered or completed your exam, don’t worry! Individuals (excluding employees or MVPs) who have registered for the Salesforce Certified AI Associate exam on or after 8:00 am PST September 23, 2024, will receive a refund via the payment method they used.
For the AI Specialist exam, all individuals (excluding employees or MVPs) who have registered for the Salesforce Certified AI Specialist exam will receive a refund via the payment method they used, regardless of the exam schedule date.
It’s important to note that retakes of either exam will not be free, being priced at $50 USD for the AI Associate and $100 for the AI Specialist, respectively.
How to Sign Up
To register for the AI Associate or the AI Specialist Certification, follow these steps:
- Go to Webassessor and log in to your account. If you’ve never taken a certification before, you will need to make one.
- Click on “Register For An Exam” at the top.
- You will find the AI Associate under “Associate Exams” and the AI Specialist under “Administrator Exams”. You can choose to take the exam online or in a test center.
- Click on “Register”.
- Select the date and time you would like to take the exam.
- Click on “Check Out”.
- Click the “Done” button. You should then receive an email confirming your details.
Self-Paced Resources
Of course, free AI training continues to be provided by Trailhead. Not sure where to start? Check out these resources:
Summary
This initiative is a rising tide that lifts all boats. Not only does it support educating the wider Salesforce ecosystem in an area where currently very little expertise exists, but it also brings more focus to how Salesforce is bringing AI to market through their new products. This includes Copilot Studio, Data Cloud, and the newly announced agentforce.
Salesforce has been a leader in AI for close to a decade, and this is its chance to further push its messaging across the Salesforce ecosystem and beyond.
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