AI Prompt Engineering for the Workforce

This course offers a practical introduction to using generative AI tools responsibly in professional settings. Participants will learn how AI language models work at a high level and how to write, refine, and evaluate prompts for clearer, more useful results.

Through demonstrations, guided activities, and real-world examples, participants will gain hands-on experience applying AI to writing, analysis, summarization, and problem-solving tasks. The course also covers multimodal prompting, common AI limitations such as hallucinations and bias, and key guardrails for accurate, ethical, and secure use.

What You Will Learn

• Understand how generative AI models interpret and respond to prompts
• Write clear, effective prompts for common workplace tasks
• Apply prompt design techniques to improve accuracy and relevance
• Refine prompts through iteration to achieve better results
• Identify and reduce common AI output risks, such as hallucinations and bias
• Practice responsible AI use in professional settings

Course Outline

Module 1: Introduction to AI and Prompt Engineering

• Overview of generative AI and language models
• How AI assistants interpret and respond to prompts
• Starting, managing, and continuing AI conversations
• Understanding chat context and prompt chaining
• Introduction to multimodal prompting

Module 2: Crafting Effective AI Prompts

• Principles of clear and effective prompt design
• Zero-shot and few-shot prompting approaches
• Using prompt frameworks to structure instructions
• Iterative prompt refinement and experimentation
• Evaluating AI outputs for quality and relevance

Module 3: Practical Application and Challenges

• Applying AI prompting to real government work tasks
• Controlling writing style and tone with AI
• Recognizing AI limitations, including hallucinations and bias
• Ethical, privacy, and security considerations
• Responsible AI use within government guidelines

Learning Activities & Knowledge Checks

• Guided demonstrations and applied exercises
• Scenario-based practice using work-related examples
• Knowledge checks reinforcing key concepts

This course is available for 30 days. You can choose when to start your access period. Once you activate, you will have 30 days to complete it (access the course materials, quizzes, projects and videos). You may request one extension of seven (7) days. Other extension requests will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Videos are not downloadable.