PHL sees higher demand for Generative AI courses

Online training service Coursera said on Thursday that the Philippines has the highest course enrollment in Southeast Asia, highlighting rising demand for generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) courses.

“In the Philippines, learners have already logged 18,000 hours of generative learning on Coursera. That is equivalent to nine years of learning back into just three years,” Coursera Managing Director for Asia Pacific Ashutosh Gupta told reporters in a media briefing.

“This makes GenAI the most in-demand skill in Coursera’s history yet,” he added.

Data from Coursera in June revealed that there are 125,000 enrollments for GenAI courses across the country. Meanwhile, one enrollment happens every nine minutes this year, up from the 15 minutes logged a year earlier.

Mr. Gupta noted that the “intense media attention to the new skills” influenced the trend for upskilling in AI. To meet the demand, the platform has doubled its catalog on the said topic.

GenAI courses and projects available on the platform increased from 500 to more than a thousand this year. The most in-demand courses for Filipinos cover topics such as social media management and introduction to GenAI from tech giants Google, Meta, and IBM.

“We haven’t hit the peak, and I think there is more to come in this story,” Mr. Gupta said.

The desire to earn higher salaries and have expanded career options could also cause the rising demand for AI upskilling, according to the Coursera executive.

A report by Google Philippines and consulting firm Public First said that AI could potentially increase wages by over 6% through increased productivity and higher value of hours worked.

“Some of the AI skills are getting a premium a lot more because there’s a very small number of people who have the right skills,” said Mr. Gupta.

“If you have the right skills and there’s a demand for it, then you can absolutely charge a premium for it, especially what’s happening with AI because the demand is very, very high right now,” he added.

The Philippines ranked 60th out of 109 countries on Coursera’s 2025 AI Maturity Index, with Millennials (61%) leading the adoption, followed by Generation Z (19%), Gen X (18%), and Boomers (2%). — Almira Louise S. Martinez