AIA China AI Certification Framework: Building an AI-Ready Workforce Qorus-NTT DATA Innovation in Insurance Awards 2026

Concept and Objectives

AIA China developed a three-tier AI certification programme to build AI capability systematically across its workforce and accelerate the pace of AI adoption within the organisation. The programme was designed to close a gap that external training could not address: available market courses offered generic scenarios, used tools incompatible with AIA's security and cyber policies, and were structured in formats too lengthy for a busy insurance workforce. Rather than adapting external content, we built the programme entirely in-house, grounding it in AIA China's own AI ecosystem and insurance-specific workflows.

Reasons Behind

External environment, advancements in GenAI, ramping up adoption and increasing needs around governance and organisational readiness reinforced the urgency. Industry research indicated a 57% year-over-year increase in GenAI implementation across insurance, while regulatory developments introduced governance requirements that demanded a more AI-literate workforce. Internally, AIA China had already developed seven proprietary AI tools –  including Media Bot, Review Bot, Coding Bot, Office Assistant Copilot, the GenAI Platform Mozi, the Company Knowledge Hub, and Insight Bot – built on Alibaba Qianwen as the underlying large language model. These tools provided the foundation for a certification programme that employees could engage with practically, using the same technology available to them in their day-to-day roles.

State of Competition

Competitive benchmarking revealed that leading enterprises such as EY, Salesforce, IBM, and Microsoft,  were investing heavily in structured AI talent development programmes, setting a clear market expectation for AI-capable workforces. AIA China's response was to build a programme that went further: tailored to insurance-specific workflows, integrated with proprietary tools, and deployable without dependency on external vendors.

Programme Structure

The programme is structured across three progressive levels.

• Level 1 - AI Prompt Expert Certification: targets all employees, covering GenAI fundamentals, prompt engineering, and AI-powered productivity applications

• Level 2 - AI Data Management Expert Certification - targets specialised roles, focusing on knowledge base management and AI agent refinement

• Level 3 - AI Agent Expert Certification - targets advanced practitioners, covering intelligent agent development and multi-agent orchestration using the Mozi platform

A parallel AI and Leadership track serves function and department heads, addressing commercialisation, organisational innovation, and culture development. Delivery across all levels uses 15-minute micro-learning modules, supplemented by offline workshops and practical assignments. Gamification mechanisms, including AI Agent Mission Cards and a Pain Point Marketplace where employees solve live business challenges using AI tools, help to keep the learning experience engaging and convert training directly into operational value.

Departments Involved

The programme was developed by a core team of three to four IT employees and two HR employees, with no external vendors engaged. All business units across AIA China participated as both contributors to content design and recipients of the training.

Main Results

Within three months of launch in December 2025, 25% of the workforce had attended at least one in-house AI course, with courses fully subscribed within minutes of announcement. 85% of staff have used AI tools at least once, new user requests for proof of concept projects increased by 10%, and AIA China avoided approximately ¥1M in costs by developing the programme in-house rather than engaging external consultants. This in-house effort also illustrates the broader transformation of the IT workforce at AIA from passive support to active business partners.