Intel and Fastrack into Information Technology (FIT) have announced the AI for Future Workforce Programme in Ireland, including a dedicated AI Lab where learners can train on artificial intelligence in practice. The lab is the first dedicated physical training space in a FIT programme and the centrepiece of Intel’s first Digital Readiness partnership in Ireland.

The lab will provide computers, servers and high-performance computing resources for experimentation, testing, development and analysis. FIT will draw on Intel’s global Digital Readiness resources to build fully certified AI training, available as standalone courses or inside existing FIT programmes with partner colleges.

The curriculum covers coding, computer vision and AI technologies alongside systems thinking, industry applications and responsible and ethical AI use, with early opportunities in AI for manufacturing, cybersecurity, sustainability and accessibility.

Intel, headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and listed on Nasdaq (INTC), reported second-quarter 2026 revenue of $16.1 billion (approximately €14 billion), up 25%. FIT, a not-for-profit founded in 1999 and based in Dublin, says more than 250,000 jobseekers have completed its digital skills programmes, with over 120,000 progressing into tech employment. The two organisations previously collaborated on an advanced manufacturing skills programme.

The structural driver is Intel’s global Digital Readiness commitment to work with 30,000 institutions to equip 30 million people with skills by the end of the decade, and the programme has so far built more than 100 partnerships, engaged nearly 29,000 institutions and trained over seven million people.

Delivery will draw on FIT’s reach across further education colleges, Education and Training Board centres, Youthreach centres and workforce upskilling initiatives, in a phased rollout that starts with facilitator training, programme planning and certified pathway development, then pilots with selected colleges before wider expansion and employer-led upskilling.

Robin Colwell, senior vice president of government affairs at Intel, said the partnership combines “global learning resources with extensive experience of Ireland’s skills and training landscape” to make practical, industry-relevant AI education more accessible.

Peter Davitt, chief executive of FIT, called the creation of FIT’s first dedicated physical AI training space “an important step forward in how we deliver these skills,” saying learners will be able to apply their learning in a practical environment.

For the sector, the partnership confirms that further education and workforce training providers are pairing certified AI curricula with dedicated hands-on infrastructure, backed by technology vendor resources.

Source: irishtechnews.ie / sec.gov / irishfunds.ie