Total Training, formally Dods Training are delivering a series of Generative AI Prompting for Your Role courses for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).
As artificial intelligence becomes embedded across the Civil Service, MHCLG identified the need for practical, role-relevant training to help teams move beyond awareness and into confident application. The programme is designed for colleagues with little or no prompting experience who want to quickly develop hands-on skills in using Microsoft Copilot Chat to improve effectiveness in their day-to-day roles.
The Challenge
While many teams had access to AI tools, confidence levels varied significantly. Common challenges included:
- Uncertainty about what Copilot Chat can and cannot do
- Limited experience in writing effective prompts
- Frustrations with existing workflows, including SharePoint navigation and document management
- Concerns about quality, bias and appropriateness of AI-generated outputs
MHCLG also sought to align capability building with the Civil Service-wide One Big Thing 2025 initiative, focused on ‘AI for All’, ensuring teams understood both the opportunity and responsibility associated with AI adoption.
The requirement was clear: deliver practical, immediately applicable training that enhances productivity while embedding safe, structured use of AI.
A Tailored and Insight-Led Approach
Each course begins before the live session itself.
We conduct a discovery call with the client team to understand their function, priorities and pain points. Delegates also complete a pre-course questionnaire, assessing their current experience with Copilot Chat, confidence levels and specific frustrations. Including challenges with SharePoint and document collaboration.
This insight allows us to tailor examples, exercises and use cases to the team’s operational context, ensuring the session is relevant across a broad range of functions and professions.
The Programme: Practical AI for Everyday Work
The course introduces participants to the practical use of AI within MHCLG, with a focus on Microsoft Copilot Chat. It blends expert guidance with hands-on experimentation, ensuring delegates build real capability rather than passive knowledge.
Through structured exercises, participants learn to:
- Understand the capabilities of Copilot Chat and the support available within MHCLG
- Align AI usage with the One Big Thing 2025 ‘AI for All’ initiative
- Design, test and refine prompt structures using clear instructions, context and examples
- Integrate chat-enabled features across Microsoft tools such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint
- Apply prompting techniques to common tasks within their own business area
A central focus is learning how to move from vague prompts to structured, outcome-focused instructions. Delegates practise refining outputs through iterative prompt rewriting, testing variations and improving clarity, relevance and accuracy.
The programme also explores MHCLG-specific workflows and examples where Copilot has streamlined tasks from drafting briefings and summarising documents to structuring presentations and analysing data.
Building Confidence, Curiosity and Control
A key objective of the course is not simply technical competence, but cultural confidence.
Participants are encouraged to approach AI with curiosity and critical thinking, understanding how to evaluate outputs for quality, bias and appropriateness, and how to refine responses to meet professional standards.
By the end of the session, delegates can:
- Confidently understand and apply the capabilities of MS Copilot Chat
- Feel motivated and energised about using AI in their role
- Create structured prompts that generate clear, relevant and reliable outputs
- Evaluate and refine AI responses to ensure accuracy and alignment with team objectives
- Apply Copilot Chat to streamline processes and free up time for higher-value work
Each team leaves with a practical set of bespoke Copilot Chat prompts tailored to their specific function immediately usable in day-to-day activities.
Driving Productivity and Impact
The impact of the Generative AI Prompting for Your Role programme is both immediate and practical.
Teams report increased efficiency in drafting, summarising and planning tasks. Delegates describe greater confidence in experimenting with AI tools and a clearer understanding of how to embed them responsibly into established workflows.
By focusing on structured prompting, iterative refinement and contextual application, Total Training is supporting the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in building sustainable AI capability across its workforce enabling colleagues to work more effectively, increase productivity and focus their time on strategic priorities.
“Total Training have been very organised and responsive throughout our engagement with them. They worked at pace with us on contextualising our learning, making proactive and helpful suggestions, and their delivery has been very smoothly coordinated. Early evaluation of the resulting product is showing very positive feedback.” Maria Zacaroli Skills, Learning and Careers Lead MHCLG