This year's Springboard+ programme has been launched, with 7,200 places available across 244 different courses.
The reskilling and upskilling scheme offers free or heavily subsidised courses to people looking to adapt or develop their skills.
Applications for this year's programme are now open, and includes courses in a range of areas, including sustainability, healthcare and manufacturing.
However there has been a particular focus this year on digital skills.
"AI is a big factor here - but [employers are] not just looking for people who can design AI, they're also looking for how to work with AI," said Dr Vivienne Patterson, head of skills, engagement and statistics at the Higher Education Authority.
"So, we're going to need people with digital skills across all of the areas like sustainability, healthcare innovation, advanced manufacturing," she said.
"We're also looking at areas like business leadership for improving productivity," she added.
Dr Patterson said this focus on digital was also the reason why there were slightly fewer courses and places this year when compared to 2025, as the cost tech-related training tends to be more expensive while the budget for Springboard has remained the same.
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However she said there were also many courses focused on other sectors - where there is expected to be a significant growth in demand in the coming years.
"Some of the new areas that are coming up and we need to be ready for these changes in a few years' time are offshore wind energy and carbon accounting," Dr Patterson said. "Another area that has a skills shortage at the minute is aircraft leasing and agri-innovation."
With AI looming over the jobs market - and fears that some roles may soon be replaced by robots - it is expected that many people will turn to Springboard to help insulate themselves from its impact.
"We are heavily oversubscribed every year for Springboard, so we have more people applying than we have places that we can offer," Dr Patterson said. "I would call it a no-brainer because it's one of the main factors that stops people from upskilling is cost and time".
"These courses are heavily subsidised and they're also available in flexible and blended manner - so we're really playing to the learner in that we're providing it in a way that's accessible to them," she said.
Springboard was initially launched in 2011 and, at the time, focused on people who were out of work.
However it has since broadened its scope to cover those in employment and self-employment, as well as people who are unemployed or returning to the workforce.
Dr Patterson also encouraged companies to look at the courses as an opportunity for their staff - especially given that they are funded by the National Training Fund, which employers pay into.
