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SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.—September 1, 2026—San Francisco is where much of the world’s AI is being built. But for many of the professionals who live and work here—in its clinics and classrooms, its small businesses, nonprofits, and city agencies—the skills driving that boom can still feel one step out of reach. As AI reshapes what employers expect from their teams, more of the city’s workforce is asking the same question: what am I missing, and how do I keep up? Today, San Francisco State University is answering that question with a set of short-format, career-focused certificate programs built for working adults who want to stay relevant without pressing pause on their careers.
The programs are offered through the university’s College of Professional & Global Education in partnership with Ziplines Education, a national career accelerator and trusted partner to more than 30 universities. Together they are delivering short-format, university-branded certificate programs built for working professionals, adult learners, and career changers across the Bay Area.
“Our students are San Francisco’s working professionals—first-generation students, career changers, and adults building careers while they build their lives here,” said Angie Lipschuetz, PhD, Associate Dean of the College of Professional & Global Education at San Francisco State University. “These certificates are practical and career-focused. They meet learners where they are, fit around a full-time job, and give people across the Bay Area a real path to work with AI, not around it.”
The lineup spans two connected tracks. The first builds core professional skills that regional employers hire for every day: Project Management, Business Analytics, and Digital Marketing. The second is a full suite of applied AI. AI Essentials anchors it as the practical starting point, meeting professionals wherever they are with AI and giving them a foundation they can put to work right away. From there, AI Automation, AI for Marketing, AI for HR, AI for Sales Professionals, and AI for Data Analysis extend that fluency into the specific roles and tasks people handle on the job.
The demand is measurable. Across the region, Lightcast projects AI agent skills to grow 98%—the fastest-rising skill area in the local labor market—alongside generative AI skills at 39% and automation at 29%. Data-driven decision making and marketing skills are each projected to grow 21%. Those numbers show up in real roles across the Bay Area’s employers: the health systems and hospitals serving a dense urban population, the small businesses and nonprofits that give the city its character, the public agencies that keep it running, and the technology and professional-services firms that anchor its economy.
“San Francisco is where a lot of this technology gets built. That doesn’t mean everyone who lives here gets to build with it,” said Sara Leoni, CEO of Ziplines Education. “That’s the gap we care about. San Francisco State University has spent decades opening doors for working adults and first-generation students in this city. We know how to build programs that move quickly without cutting corners. Together, we can help make sure the people who keep San Francisco running get to be part of what comes next.”
Together, the two institutions are building what professional development can look like: flexible, career-relevant, and closely aligned with what regional employers need. Learners benefit from monthly cohort launches, hands-on assignments, expert-led instruction, and personalized support designed to turn ambition into real career momentum.
Each certificate runs a set number of weeks and asks for roughly 8–10 hours a week, pairing self-paced coursework with live, expert-led sessions. Programs are practitioner-led and grounded in real-world application, so learners finish with skills, credentials, and the confidence to put both to use immediately.
Featured Programs
Project Management: Learn to lead with agility, work in tools like Jira, and earn hours toward PMI certification.
Business Analytics: Gain hands-on experience in Tableau, SQL, and data visualization to drive smarter decisions.
AI Essentials: Build a practical AI foundation using ChatGPT and other tools to sharpen creativity, problem-solving, and everyday productivity.
AI Automation: Design and apply AI agents and no-code automations to take repetitive manual tasks off your plate—no coding required.
AI for Marketing: Apply AI across the marketing function—from audience research and competitive analysis to creative production and data storytelling.
AI for HR: Bring AI into core HR functions—talent acquisition, employee engagement, workforce planning, and day-to-day operations.
AI for Sales Professionals: Use AI to research accounts, personalize outreach, and move deals forward—without adding hours to your week.
AI for Data Analysis: Use AI to gather, interpret, and communicate data with confidence—turning numbers into clear decisions, no technical background required.
Enrollment is now open, with cohorts beginning fall 2026. To learn more and register, visit https://cpage.sfsu.edu/cpage/professional-skills or ziplines.com.
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About San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a public university founded in 1899 and one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. Home to one of the most demographically diverse student bodies in the country, San Francisco State University is a federally designated Hispanic-Serving Institution and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution, and it is nationally recognized as a top performer for social mobility. Through its College of Professional & Global Education, the university serves working adults and lifelong learners with professional, extended, and global education programs—including certificates aligned with the needs of the Bay Area workforce—at its main campus and its downtown San Francisco campus.
About Ziplines Education
Ziplines Education partners with 30+ public and regional universities to design, launch, and grow employer-aligned certificates that build skills, confidence, and career mobility. Practitioner-led and cohort-based, our model helps institutions adapt at the speed of work—so learners and regions thrive as the economy evolves, driven by technology and accelerated by AI. Learn more at ziplines.com.
Media Contacts
San Francisco State University
Angie Lipschuetz
alipschuetz@sfsu.edu
415-405-4205
Ziplines Education
Alyssa Miller
alyssa@ammediaworks.com
973-615-1292
Media inquiries
Alyssa Miller
press@ziplines.com
