#358 AI Meets Workforce Training: Luis Garcia’s Approach to Education at Scale

The CTO Show with Mehmet Gonullu

In this episode of “The CTO Show with Mehmet,” Mehmet welcomes Luis Garcia, co-founder and president of PETE. PETE, which stands for Personalized Education, Training, and Enrichment, provides AI-powered learning tools for workforce development. Luis shares his journey from being a programmer to taking on various roles in project management, product management, and general management, eventually leading to his current role at PETE. He also discusses his significant achievement of launching an online university that grew to serve 12,000 students and employed 1,000 people, generating $180 million in yearly revenue.

The conversation dives into the common challenges faced by organizations in workforce training. Luis explains how companies often lack the resources to create effective training materials and how traditional solutions, such as hiring third-party companies or relying on internal experts, can be costly and inefficient. He introduces PETE’s innovative approach of using AI to automate the creation of training materials and assessments, making the process more efficient and cost-effective.

Luis elaborates on the benefits of using AI in training, highlighting how it reduces the burden on internal experts, speeds up the creation of training materials, and improves the evaluation of learners. He provides real-world examples of how AI can enhance onboarding processes and continuous training, and discusses the potential for AI to adapt training programs to keep up with rapidly changing skill requirements.

From a business perspective, Luis outlines the immediate and long-term ROI of AI-powered training solutions. He explains how reducing the time experts spend on training and speeding up the onboarding process can deliver immediate ROI, while improved employee retention through better and more relevant training offers long-term benefits. He provides real-world examples to demonstrate these tangible benefits.

The conversation shifts to the investor perspective on AI, where Luis discusses the importance of being AI-native rather than AI-sprinkled. He shares his experience with investors, noting their informed skepticism and decision-making process when evaluating AI applications.

About Luis:

Luis Garcia is a seasoned international executive with over 25 years of experience in technology, digital media, and education. He specializes in driving new ventures and products to rapid growth by building effective teams that harness innovation, technology, and creativity to solve complex problems.

He is the president of PETE, an Orlando-based tech startup that offers a suite of cost-effective and customizable solutions that enable organizations to deliver personalized workforce learning at scale. The PETE team is dedicated to harnessing the power of AI to help organizations of all sizes optimize their training initiatives, spanning from onboarding to regulatory compliance, product knowledge, technical skills, and more, without hiring additional training resources.

https://www.pete.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/luisegarcia/

01:10 Luis Garcia's Background and PETE Overview

04:08 Challenges in Workforce Learning and AI Solutions

09:21 The Role of AI in Training and Education

20:38 Investor Interest in AI and Future Trends

27:36 Luis Garcia's Motivation and Advice for Entrepreneurs

34:26 Conclusion and Final Thoughts