In June, Handshake, the self-described “career network for the AI economy,” acquired the AI-native learning platform Uplimit. Handshake said it was the first step in building a skills studio that connects skill development to career opportunities. Today, that learning hub is now open and free for any job seeker looking to reskill or upskill to remain competitive in the AI era.
AI Skills Studio users receive personalized, project-based “missions” that Handshake said should take ten to 45 minutes to complete. The company has partnered with Clay, Figma, Gamma, Google, Lovable, Notion, OpenAI, Replit, Salesforce, Southern New Hampshire University, and Vercel to create meaningful hands-on projects so users can build and showcase practical AI experience. They’ll learn how different technologies work and how AI is used in real work.
Users will not only gain experience with the same AI tools practitioners use, but also receive guidance and feedback from an AI-powered instructor. Once the project is complete, it’ll be added to the user’s Handshake profile and featured on the company’s AI Showcase, making it visible to more than one million employers who use Handshake to search for talent. And yes, users are given a verified skill badge.
Missions are sorted by career or by topic—there are more than 40 to start with. For example, users can work on missions involving AI in marketing, sales, or data analysis. Or, they can choose missions relating to AI assistants, research, apps and sites, data analysis, images and video, or design. Mission examples include building a daily briefing agent, creating a working prototype with OpenAI’s technology, developing an automated Chief of Staff agent, building and deploying a custom Slack app, or setting up a job search command center.
“AI is changing work so quickly that we can’t afford to wait until we have it all figured out,” Julia Stiglitz, Handshake’s chief education and workforce officer and Uplimit’s former leader, said in a statement. “The best thing people can do is start learning and start building.”
Handshake enters an increasingly crowded learning marketplace. People are already turning to education services from platforms like Coursera, LinkedIn, Salesforce, ServiceNow, and HubSpot to learn AI skills. But one differentiator may be that Handshake doesn’t do lectures, but actual projects. “AI Skills Studio is built around doing, not watching,” Stiglitz told The AI Economy in an email. That means people aren’t studying theory, but rather getting their hands dirty, so to speak.
Something else that separates Handshake’s AI Skills Studio from other e-learning platforms is its audience. The company primarily appeals to college students, its traditional core market. Graduating seniors are also increasingly demanding AI learning programs. Handshake said its own research found that more than half of graduating seniors (58 percent) say they need a stronger understanding of AI to succeed at work. However, less than a third (28 percent) say AI has been “meaningfully integrated” into their program. Handshake’s AI Skills Studio could serve to supplement their education.
Additionally, for students struggling to find tech-related internships, the AI Skills Studio could be a viable alternative. Again, users aren’t spending their time on reading comprehension exercises. These aren’t courses, nor are they hypothetical projects. The company co-designs the missions with partners using their tools. However, the mission’s objective isn’t focused on building adoption for that technology. Instead, it helps users build a skill regardless of industry or goal.
Handshake said that employers will also benefit from its AI Skills Studio, creating a more direct way for recruiters to evaluate emerging skills. “Employers know they need people who can work effectively with AI, but a resume can’t tell you what someone is truly capable of,” Jon Stull, Handshake’s chief operating officer, said in a statement. “AI Skills Studio gives job seekers a way to build that evidence, and gives employers more to go on when deciding who to hire.”
Users can access the AI Skills Studio today on Handshake’s website or mobile apps.
