Canva Gives Its 5,000 Employees a Week to Learn AI. Will It Work?
Canva is making a bold move: giving all 5,000 employees an entire week off regular duties to focus on learning AI. This isn’t just a few hours of optional training or casual lunch-and-learns. It’s a full week dedicated to building AI skills.
At an average cost of $100K per employee annually, that translates to roughly $10 million in payroll for the week alone. Adding expert trainers from OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic, plus opportunity costs, puts the total investment between $12-15 million. To put that in perspective, it’s more than many Series A funding rounds.
Why This Matters for Every Business Leader
The AI skills gap is real and costly. While AI tools promise productivity boosts of 20-40%, most employees barely scratch the surface—similar to how Excel was used back in 1995. Companies that don’t move fast risk falling behind.
- Salesforce: AI now handles 30-50% of work, with 93% accuracy achieved. The company has cut over 1,000 jobs this year due to AI-driven restructuring.
- Shopify: CEO Tobi Lütke demands teams prove why AI can’t accomplish their goals before requesting more headcount. Using AI effectively is now a core expectation.
- HubSpot: 95% of engineering teams use AI daily. CEO Yamini Rangan leads by example with weekly AI demos and encourages company-wide adoption focused on real customer value.
These examples highlight one thing clearly: companies that don’t reskill their workforce quickly won’t keep up. This isn’t a challenge for the future—it’s happening now.
The Three-Part Strategy Behind Canva’s AI Training Week
Many companies get AI training wrong. One-off workshops and forced tool adoption don’t move the needle. Canva’s approach focuses on three key pillars:
- Time: Employees get a full week to focus solely on AI learning, not juggling day-to-day work. This upfront investment avoids slow, inefficient on-the-job learning.
- Tools: For over a year, Canva has provided access to ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and other AI tools. The week is about moving beyond access to true mastery.
- Learning: A mix of self-directed exploration and expert-led sessions, with role-specific training for departments like Finance, Engineering, and Sales. The week also includes a two-day company-wide hackathon to build real solutions.
Can One Week Really Reskill a Workforce?
It’s unlikely a single week will turn everyone into AI experts. Real fluency takes sustained practice over months. Still, a focused week can spark enthusiasm and build foundational skills.
Mass reskilling initiatives often fail because they:
- Are too theoretical and boring
- Offer generic training not tailored to roles
- Lack follow-up beyond initial sessions
- Don’t have strong leadership support, making them optional or low priority
Canva’s program tackles each of these issues with dedicated time, role-specific content, expert guidance, and leadership-driven participation.
HubSpot’s CEO describes the current moment as a “kid in a candy store” age. Teams should feel excited and curious about AI, not reluctant. If they don’t, it may be a sign the team isn’t ready to embrace change.
She also distinguishes between AI that is “neat” and AI that is “necessary.” Many try AI tools once or twice for fun, then abandon them. The goal is to make AI an essential, daily part of work to unlock real value. Tracking daily repeat usage versus one-off novelty helps ensure AI becomes indispensable.
Key Takeaways for Leaders
Canva’s large upfront investment bets on AI literacy compounding into meaningful productivity gains. While one week won’t create experts overnight, it’s a strong start.
For most organizations, the path forward doesn’t require a multi-million-dollar training week. Instead, focus on:
- Intentional experimentation with AI tools
- Providing the right tools and access
- Sustained support and role-specific training
- Leadership that models AI adoption daily
Companies that get this right in 2025 will pull ahead. Those that don’t will wonder why competitors move faster.
The final word: curiosity and a growth mindset matter most. If you resist AI or delay investing in your team’s skills, you’re already behind.
For those looking to build AI skills with structured support, Complete AI Training offers a range of courses and resources tailored for different roles and skill levels.
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