๐Ÿค– AI crawling in retail for more customised shopping. NHS needs more consultants. >$1B for STEM education research.

Chart of the Day #536 looks at funding for STEM education research, NHS consultants, and AI crawling by industry.

Hello ๐Ÿ‘‹

North Carolina upskills energy workforce pipeline. Arizona upskills semiconductor workforce. Medical training to be strengthened in Texas. Huawei to upskill digital workforce in Nepal.

President Trump signed a $79B FY2026 education funding bill supporting schools, teachers, and education programs nationwide. Cambodia and ADB partner to boost workforce skills. Dubai launches a multi-year AI literacy programme for private school students and teachers.

Today's Topics

๐Ÿ’ผ Workforce. Increased apprenticeships signalled French workforce development  
๐Ÿค– Artificial Intelligence. Parents opted for AI to replace tutors in subjects like mathematics
๐Ÿƒ Green Skills. Emerging economies green-lit more plastic credit projects

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๐Ÿ’ผ Increased apprenticeships signalled French workforce development

Franceโ€™s 2018 reforms on apprenticeships contributed to a shift in youth employment, with more opportunities in apprenticeships. By liberalising training and extending age limits, youth unemployment dropped. Emerging sectors, such as green energy and cybersecurity, leverage these programmes to bridge technical gaps, with many participants securing immediate employment, effectively mitigating Franceโ€™s long-standing skilled labour shortage in the industrial and digital sectors.

๐Ÿค– Parents opted for AI to replace tutors in subjects like mathematics

AI tutoring has been expanding alongside the rapidly scaling AI ecosystem, as more chatbots enter the market. This survey analyses sentiments at the earliest stages of widespread accessibility of AI chatbots. Googleโ€™s NotebookLM is one of many advanced learning oriented AI products offering features such as audio and video overviews, and interactive quizzes. AI offers personalisation and accessibility, but it lacks the emotional intelligence of human educators. Critical threats include "cognitive offloading," where heavy reliance leads to a drop in critical thinking scores. A hybrid approach would promise the highest learning gains by combining AIโ€™s procedural efficiency with human mentorship.

๐Ÿƒ Emerging economies green-lit more plastic credit projects

Emerging economies led in plastic credit adoption, with increased project adoption helping bridge a USD 1.2T circular economy financing gap aimed to be achieved by 2040. These projects drive infrastructure in regions lacking municipal services and increase informal worker incomes. PLEASE Project and Clean Bhutan are notable projects in South Asia. Developed nations lag due to mature EPR frameworks and strict anti-greenwashing regulations. However, environmental organisations push for more deep-rooted solutions that would reduce the overall plastic production, to make these efforts more effective.


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