The training is 100% online, but it’s interactive. You’ll complete your coursework on the Coursera platform, and interact with your peers and access career coaching through the Merit America platform — a blended online learning environment with live virtual meetings and self-paced coursework.

You’ll use widely adopted digital workplace tools along the way, including Zoom, Slack, Google Workspace, and the Merit America Learner Portal.

To be eligible for Merit America’s programs, the following must be true:

• You have a high school diploma or GED.
• Associate and bachelor’s degree holders are welcome.
• You are a resident of the U.S. and authorized to work in the U.S.
• DACA and Temporary Residents must have a status/visa that does not expire within six months of the start date.
• Residents of U.S. territories are eligible for our program.
• You are 18 years of age or older.

Plan to spend about 8–9 hours per week in a blended learning environment. This includes 3–5 hours of self-paced online coursework through Coursera, hands-on practice activities, and building your personalized capstone project.

You’ll also develop your skills with a dedicated career coach during two scheduled 1:1 sessions (Week 2 and Week 5), and connect with peers in weekly live virtual workshops. Most content is asynchronous — your main scheduled commitments are the weekly live workshops, designed to accommodate working adults.

When you join Merit America, there’s a team dedicated to your success.

Your career coach helps you build the professional and job-search skills you need — from refining your resume and preparing for interviews to networking effectively and navigating job offers. They’ll also work with you to chart a clear career path aligned with your goals.

You’ll also work alongside a group of talented peers as you complete the coursework together.

We can’t guarantee job placement or salaries, but we do provide a structured training curriculum, professional career development, and dedicated job-search support. Because of this, the majority of job-seeking alumni are placed in new jobs within three months of completion.

Merit America’s AI Essentials program helps you build practical, job-ready AI skills you can use immediately at work — no technical background required. The focus is on real-world application, not theory.

Across six weeks, you’ll learn how to:

• Understand how AI works — its strengths, limitations, and responsible use
• Write effective prompts to get accurate, useful outputs
• Use AI tools for everyday work, like drafting emails, summarizing documents, and organizing information
• Build repeatable workflows that save time and reduce manual effort
• Evaluate AI outputs for accuracy, bias, and appropriate use

You’ll put your skills into practice through weekly, hands-on assignments and finish with a portfolio-ready project that shows how you used AI to improve a real task or workflow. Upon completion, you’ll earn the Google AI Professional Certificate — a recognized credential reflecting your AI literacy and applied, job-relevant skills.