Expert urges mandatory 20-hour AI training for ministers and CEOs, unveils $300m three-year plan

# What the proposal is Mark Laurence, an AI consultant and educator, drafted an AI policy for New Zealand that calls for mandatory training and targeted public investment. The package is costed at $300 million spread over three years and focuses on three areas: leadership training for senior officials, a mass public education programme, and dedicated funding for teacher upskilling.

# Leadership training: hands-on, not briefings Laurence proposes 20 hours of mandatory, hands-on AI training for every minister and chief executive. His argument: leaders who only receive briefings will not grasp the practical implications of AI. The training aims to move leaders beyond surface-level uses (for example, editing email tone) so they directly experience the capabilities and limitations of current tools. Laurence frames this as a practical requirement for guiding organisational and societal change.

# Public education fund: one million adults The draft calls for a $37–61 million fund to provide free fundamental AI courses to about one million New Zealand adults. That works out to roughly $60 per person, a figure Laurence derived by comparing the plan to Finland's approach and to New Zealand's previous Digital Boost programme, which cost about $60 million and was independently judged to have worked.

# Teachers as the highest priority Laurence identifies teachers as the highest priority group. There are roughly 69,000 teachers in New Zealand, and the proposal estimates costs of $400–600 per teacher per year. That totals approximately $83–125 million over three years. The rationale: teachers need guidance themselves so they can responsibly help students interact with AI and avoid outcomes where children over-rely on AI for cognitive tasks.

# Political outreach and timing

# How the figures were framed The $300 million total bundles leadership training, public education, and teacher upskilling over a three-year horizon. The $37–61 million public education range reflects different cost assumptions for delivering a free foundational course to one million adults. Teacher costs use per-teacher annual estimates multiplied across the current teaching workforce for a three-year period.

# Practical implications to expect

# Where the proposal sits in the broader debate

# Next steps The draft policy is with political parties. Responses were requested by 8 October, and the Greens have indicated they will review the material. Adoption would require political agreement and budget allocation consistent with the three-year costings Laurence provided.