As AI becomes a part of everyday life, NAB is lifting its approach to Data & AI literacy, hosting 40 events and activations for its team throughout August dedicated to building knowledge around how these tools can make a real difference for customers.
NAB Chief Data & Analytics Officer Christian Nelissen said the initiative is about giving employees the chance to build new skills, understanding, and confidence, no matter their role.
"This month is a chance for our team to fully immerse themselves. It's an open invitation to the more than 38,000 colleagues across the bank, whether they're deep in the data or just starting out. We're encouraging them to be curious, dive in and explore these tools," Mr Nelissen said.
Now in its fourth year, NAB's Data & AI month is a bank-wide educational program designed to help colleagues at all levels grow their confidence and capabilities with data and AI.
This August, 40 hours of learning will be delivered across 19 working days, with sessions exploring how different tools can improve customer experiences, while being used safely and responsibly. The programme breaks down what it takes to build a truly data-driven organisation – from making customer experiences more personalised in real time and ethical data practices, to exploring how NAB's platforms connect behind the scenes through the evolving Lakehouse architecture.
According to research by Canva, 92% of leaders say AI literacy is a must-have skill in the next two to four years. At NAB, colleagues have had access to more than 200 hours of learning since Data & AI month launched in 2021. Over the past four years, more than 10,000 colleagues have attended sessions during the month. With growing interest in how AI and data are shaping the workplace, even greater engagement is anticipated this year.
The annual series reflects NAB's longer-term commitment to building AI literacy across the bank and giving all employees an opportunity to learn. In addition to the dedicated month, NAB also has Data & AI Guilds which provide continuous learning and development opportunities for colleagues.
"AI has been around for years, but the current pace of change is rapid. Providing opportunities to learn are vital to helping drive creativity and innovation.
"History shows us the pattern: from printing presses to electrification to the dot-com boom, every major leap has created new skills and roles.
"Fifty years ago, banks had thousands of typists. Today, we have none – and yet we employ more people than ever before. No one was hiring for a Prompt Engineer five years ago. The nature of work will change.
"We're implementing GenAI tools which are removing drudgery for our people, giving them time back to solve more complex tasks that AI can't for our customers."
Unlocking the Strategic Power of Data
Data & AI Month also invites teams to explore how data can be used to reshape customer understanding and help drive smarter decisions.
"We have an enormous amount of data and reporting available to us," said Mr Nelissen.
"But we haven't fully tapped into its potential to rethink how we can anticipate customer needs, streamline decision making and rethink how our teams operate.
"That's what Data & AI Month is all about – turning insight into action."
During the month, colleagues will also hear from platform partners like Databricks, AWS and Microsoft, who are deeply embedded in NAB's technology ecosystem.
