UCCI Workforce Readiness Centre Advances AI Readiness with Successful Cohort

Seven-week AI Foundations training equips professionals across sectors with practical, responsible AI skills

The University College of the Cayman Islands (UCCI), through its Workforce Readiness Centre (WRC) initiative, continues to strengthen Cayman’s workforce readiness for the digital age with the successful completion of another cohort of its AI Foundations: Concepts, Tools & Applications programme.

The seven-week training, delivered in four-hour weekly sessions, brought together professionals from education, finance, insurance, government, business, and data analytics. The cohort also included an accountant and an Insurance Claims Manager, reflecting the growing relevance of artificial intelligence across both technical and non-technical roles.

Led by UCCI and facilitated by Dr Eustache Placide, the programme focused on practical application, responsible use, and critical thinking, ensuring participants understood not only how to use AI tools but also how to apply them effectively and ethically in real-world environments.

A defining feature of the programme was the completion of capstone projects, where each participant applied AI directly to their own work or business. These projects included an AI-integrated shipping system, an AI-enhanced classroom management and learning support system, an AI-powered assistant for managing customer interactions in a driving school, and solutions such as AI-driven compliance models and data exception reporting systems for entity management.

The diversity of projects highlights UCCI’s approach to AI education—grounding learning in practical outcomes aligned with Cayman’s workforce needs.

Participants described the programme as both transformative and immediately applicable.

“This course taught me that AI is a powerful tool, but only as powerful as the person guiding it. Learning how to prompt, iterate, and verify is a skill in itself, and it will change how I approach data quality and operational efficiency,” said Summer LaRue, Legal & Fiduciary Services Professional.

“The AI Foundations course at UCCI reshaped how I view artificial intelligence—not as a replacement for human expertise, but as a strategic tool that enhances decision-making, efficiency, and learning. It gave me the confidence to apply AI responsibly in education while maintaining the critical thinking and ethical standards essential in the classroom,” said Kerita Levermore-Stewart, Educator.

“AI is here to stay—you don’t have to be afraid of it. What matters is applying critical thinking to everything it produces and using it as a helper, not a replacement, said Frank Gallippi, a professional accountant.

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“This course equipped me to develop AI solutions for our claims processes and across departments, while reinforcing the importance of guardrails, ethics, and data privacy as we adopt these technologies,” said Stuart Greg Miller, Claims Manager.

“The most valuable takeaway was learning how critical prompting is with AI. The quality of your results depends entirely on how you guide the system,” said Tracey Crowson, Business Owner.

The programme consistently reinforced a central principle: AI should enhance human capability, not replace it.

The programme also incorporated discussions on applying CXC’s five core assessment standards—authenticity, integrity, transparency, accountability, and validity—to AI use, while emphasizing the central role of teachers in structuring its use, validating student work, and preserving the integrity of assessment.

“The AI Foundations course gave me practical tools I can immediately apply to enhance teaching, assessment, and workflow design. It strengthened my confidence in using AI responsibly while guiding students and colleagues in an evolving digital landscape,” said Conroy Copeland, Education Professional.

Dr Placide emphasized the broader importance of AI literacy for Cayman’s future.

“AI is not a technology problem; it is a people and capability challenge. The real advantage is not having access to AI, but knowing how to think with it, question it, and apply it responsibly. That is what will define the future of work in Cayman.”

The cross-sector nature of the cohort created a collaborative learning environment, allowing participants to share perspectives and explore how AI can be applied across industries. This reflects a wider shift taking place locally, as organisations recognise that AI capability is no longer confined to IT departments but is becoming a core professional skill.

The programme also demonstrates the value of short, structured training models that allow professionals to improve their skills while continuing in their roles. The seven-week format provided both depth and flexibility, enabling participants to learn, apply, and reflect in real time.

Building on this success, UCCI’s Workforce Development unit will soon introduce a second-level programme, Applied AI Systems & Integration, designed to help participants move from foundational knowledge to implementing AI solutions within their organizations.

As global industries continue to adopt artificial intelligence at an increasing pace, Cayman faces a critical opportunity to build a workforce that is not only aware of these technologies but capable of using them effectively.

The completion of this cohort represents more than a training milestone. It signals UCCI’s growing leadership in preparing Caymanians for the future of work and supporting the country’s digital transformation.

“AI is here to stay. The real advantage is learning how to use it responsibly, strategically, and with confidence,” said Linda Key, Insurance Executive.

Eustache Placide is a computer science and artificial intelligence professor at the University College of the Cayman Islands. The views and ideas expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the positions or policies of UCCI.