What IT training courses will be hot in 2025, as AI evolves?

As 2025 dawns, IT job board users and techies in existing roles are for once posing the same questions.

What upskilling is key to staying ahead of the curve? What tech training courses should we invest our training, budget, time, and effort in?

In short, writes Bobby Armstrong of Firebrand Training, what IT training courses will be ‘hot’ in 2025?

The shifting gears of Artificial Intelligence

Well, believe it or not, the rapid, large-scale adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) shows some signs of slowing down. Or at the very least, AI is showing signs of shifting gears.

Why? Well, the notion that feeding ‘more’ data into Machine Learning models leads to ‘better’ output—also referred to as the ‘scaling law’—is reportedly being challenged.

As a result, companies are entering a phase of applying what they know works (across various industries) while researching and testing new ways to develop AI.

Rethinking, act, adjust

To make things even trickier for technology practitioners, rising political instability in the UK and abroad is leading many large-scale AI players to rethink their priorities and approaches.

So, what should those of us at the technology industry’s coalface actually do with this information, to adjust to this AI evolution?

Here are three tech training courses that should be on your radar in 2025, with the above AI developments in mind:

AI fundamentals courses

The first thing we recommend tech teams get to grips with is the fundamentals of AI --  regardless of the particular department that the team’s individual members work in.

In 2024, several of the world’s most respected IT certification bodies introduced courses to meet this exact need.

Their audience varies from business and operations professionals to various specialisms within IT; many of these courses have no official prerequisites, which means you can take them without having to attest to previous IT competencies.

The CV boost you need in 2025?

What’s more, they all end with an exam, so you can achieve an official certification attesting that you know about AI.

The upshot? It looks great on any CV!

One of the courses that have met this brief really well during the past year is the Essentials Certificate in Artificial Intelligence course. It’s been developed by Britain’s Chartered Institute for IT, also known as BCS.

This course is aimed at anyone interested in implementing AI within their business, from Business Strategists and Consultants to Programme Managers, Organisational Change Practitioners, Web Developers, and IT Engineers.

What will BCS’s Essentials Certificate in AI teach me?

You’ll be taken through the basic principles of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, including:

• how they can support business growth;

• potential risks;

• sources of funding for AI/ML types of projects, and opportunities.

The BCS course leads to official certification, and via us, it takes only one day to complete. Ideal if you’re a techie in a rush!

Something longer, and more technical?

If you’re in a more technical IT role and would like to delve into these topics in greater detail, we recommend the longer version of this course, the BCS Foundation Certificate in Artificial Intelligence (AI),

Run by us over three days, this foundation AI course takes you through the fundamentals of Artificial Intelligence, the relationship between AI and robotics; the theory and practice of building a Machine Learning toolbox, applying the benefits of AI, and human-centric workflows.

2. Data courses

As mentioned at the top, we’ve come to a point where the notion that ‘more’ data results in ‘better’ AI performance is being seriously challenged and reconceived.

To be honest, I’d always had a nagging feeling this was true, and not just due to the strong focus on data that our learning programmes have always had!

The dreamers vs the realists

Data is the lifeblood of Machine Learning and AI, and those who claim otherwise tend to be seduced by what can (potentially) be done, rather than being grounded in the binary details that make these algorithms actually work.

So, if you use data in any capacity, 2025 is the year to ensure you understand the fundamentals of this fascinating area.

Whether you’re directly involved with AI, configure Business Intelligence (BI) platforms, or simply use the humble Microsoft Excel (which, with the integration of Copilot, may not remain so humble!) – knowledge is power.

And the inside track for the IT sector’s second favourite workhorse is…

And, so aside from AI, data is the tech industry’s workhorse to bet on in 2025-26!

The favourite here is Data+ offered by CompTIA.

It’s a comprehensive, world-recognised, vendor-neutral certification that you can apply regardless of the tech stack you’re using.

The course takes you through:

• essential Data concepts,

• statistical methods,

• data manipulation techniques,

• visualisation,

• translating business requirements into data,

• governance, quality, and controls.

The course ends with a comprehensive exam, the CompTIA DA0-001, the achievement of which attests to your competence internationally and across industries. With us, duration is five days.

Is CompTIA’s Data+ really for you?

Unsure? Well, this data certification is ideal for those in roles that involve data-driven business decision-making, such as Data, Reporting, or Business Intelligence Analyst, as well as Operations, and Marketing.

That said, although CompTIA recommends you have some experience in such a role, there are no formal prerequisites to attend this course, so if you think it can help you meet your goals challenge yourself and take it. In 2025, we predict that fortune will favour the bold!

3. Cyber Security

Any new technology challenges bad actors to discover its vulnerabilities and exploit them for hefty gains.

AI is no exception. And keep in mind, in 2024, cybercrime reportedly cost companies worldwide more than $10 trillion (according to Cybersecurity Ventures).

A £10 trillion market that’s set to surge by 15%

Ominously -- or fortuitously if you’re a techie looking to upskill in cyber security – that cost of cyber security is projected to grow by 15% in the coming year.

With figures like these, who can risk being unprepared, let alone missing out?

There are many Cyber Security / Cybersecurity certification programmes ‘in the wild,’ ranging from highly specialised facets of this field to generic essential courses appropriate for any security team.

Classist, specialist, essentialist? There’s a security curriculum to fit your skill set

If you’re looking for a specialised Cyber Security course, consider investing in classics such as:

The EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker® (CEH®) (v13)

The EC-Council Certified Incident Handler® (ECIH® v3)

ISC2's Certified Cloud Security Professional® (CCSP®)

Or, specialised certifications depending on your stack, might make Microsoft and AWS better choices.

For example, Microsoft Certified: Cybersecurity Architect (SC-100); or;

Amazon Web Services (AWS) Certified Security Specialty (SCS-C02)

If you’re looking to understand the essentials of Cyber Security and the way a Cyber Sec framework could look for your client or employer’s business, a top course that’s hot off the press is:

NIST® Cybersecurity Framework Foundation by DVMS Institute.

This course focuses on the NIST® framework created in the US; however, the framework is so efficient and flexible that companies around the world, extending to government bodies, are now using it.

The course helps you understand the fundamentals of digital transformation and Cyber Security Risk Management, so you can identify and address current Cyber Security challenges, and operationalise a Cyber Security programme across an enterprise.

As promised earlier, at the end of the course, you’ll take the official exam and become NIST® certified.

Fancy a fast-track?

If you're an IT, Engineering, Operations, or Business Risk professional, you can also take:

The DVMS Institute NIST® Cybersecurity Framework 800-53 Practitioner.

This course teaches you a fast-track approach to assessing, engineering, implementing, and operationalising the NIST® Cybersecurity Framework 800-53 controls and DVMS across an enterprise (and its supply chain).

Finally, my two top tips on course enrolment for software specialists in 2025

Tip 1:

As more companies turn to software solutions to embed AI into their processes, the industry is seeing an uplift in interest for:

ISC2 Certified Secure Software Lifecycle Professional® (CSSLP®).

This course is for those with a minimum of four years of cumulative paid Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) professional work experience in one or more of the eight domains of the ISC2 CSSLP CBK.

Tip 2:

For those who develop, manage, and maintain software using Python, HTML and JavaScript, CertNexus Cyber Secure Coder™ (CSC) is also an excellent course to take.

Final thought

While curriculums will always lag behind the very latest goings-on in tech, the trick is to fuse your skills with the trends you’re noticing. And with AI, there’s a lot to suggest that as a field, it isn’t going anywhere fast, even if there is an evolution underway which corresponding certifications scream to employers you – and by extension them if they hire you – are taking seriously.  Good luck with those exams!

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