ChatGPT at work: the full-day workshop
A full day that takes real jobs from first draft to checked result, with data analysis, Projects and a first reusable skill.
- Level
- PracticalFull-day workshop
- Delivery
- On-site or remoteanywhere in New Zealand
- Length
- One dayagreed with you first
- Topics
- 7adapted to your team
Who it is for
People who use ChatGPT now and then and want it to carry part of their weekly workload. Team leads who will help others after the day.
The essentials session teaches the moves. This day applies them to whole jobs. In the morning each person finishes one writing task and one analysis task from their own desk. In the afternoon the group turns a job that keeps coming back into a reusable skill.
Picture a small Tauranga freight forwarder. The operations lead brings a month of job exports and wants to know which customers cause the most re-work. The customer service coordinator brings the standard delay email and wants a version that sounds less like a form letter. Both leave with a result they have checked and a prompt they can use again.
We use the features in the ChatGPT Business workspace where the group has it, because an admin controls the data settings and who can share what. People on personal plans can still do most of the day. We do not teach custom GPT building: personal plans can no longer create new GPTs, and OpenAI is retiring custom GPTs in favour of plugins.
Before you start: Comfort with the basics of ChatGPT, or the essentials workshop first. Personal plans can no longer create new custom GPTs, so the afternoon uses Projects and skills. Whether you can share a skill with colleagues depends on your workspace settings.
What we cover
- Instructions that carry overSet custom instructions so ChatGPT knows your role, your audience and your house style. Compare the same request with and without them.
- Writing and editing longer documentsBring a longer draft into the chat, point to the paragraph that needs work and ask for a targeted change. Keep the parts that were already right, and track what you changed.
- Data analysis you can auditGive ChatGPT a spreadsheet with clear column names and one record per row. Ask for a grouping, a chart and the working. Then test one total against the original file.
- Projects as a filing systemMove the morning's work into a Project with its files and instructions. Decide which jobs deserve a shared project with colleagues, and which belong to one person.
- Your first reusable skillDescribe the steps and the expected format for one repeat job, and add a template or a good example. Test the skill with a normal request and an awkward one, and fix what breaks. Where skills are not available on your plan, we put the same method into a Project's instructions and files.
- Search, deep research and checking sourcesRun a short research question with search, then a larger one with deep research. Open the cited pages and mark what holds up.
- A plan for next weekEach person chooses two tasks to hand to ChatGPT for the coming week and writes down how they will check each one.
We adjust the content to your team, and use your own documents and tasks for the exercises.
Who does this kind of work
63.6% of employed New Zealanders, about 1,669,000 people, work in the desk-based occupation groups (in bold) where ChatGPT helps most. Each town page shows the local share, so you can see how a rollout would size up where you are.
Employed New Zealanders by occupation group, 2023
| Occupation group | Chart | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Managers | 18.3% | |
| Professionals | 26.8% | |
| Technicians and trades workers | 12.5% | |
| Community and personal service workers | 9.0% | |
| Clerical and administrative workers | 10.8% | |
| Sales workers | 7.8% | |
| Machinery operators and drivers | 5.9% | |
| Labourers | 9.0% |
Office, management and sales means four occupation groups: managers, professionals, admin and clerical staff, and sales. These are roles where AI assistance is most applicable. This broad proxy does not measure adoption or predict job change.
Source: Stats NZ, 2023 Census, usually resident employed people; ILO, Generative AI and jobs: a refined global index of occupational exposure (2025).
Other courses
1Introductory
ChatGPT essentials workshop
A hands-on first session: clear prompts, files, data analysis, Projects and search, practised on tasks your team already does.
3Organisation
ChatGPT Business and Enterprise rollout
Set up a ChatGPT workspace properly: plan choice, admin settings, an AI use policy, shared skills and Projects, and support that keeps people using it.
4Advanced
Skills, plugins, workspace agents and connected apps
For power users and technical leads: skills, plugins, Projects, ChatGPT Work, connected apps, data analysis and workspace agents.
5Role-based
ChatGPT for marketing and sales
Campaign copy, proposals, customer research and sales follow-up in your brand voice, with checks on claims before anything goes public.
Industries this course suits
Guides
- ChatGPT for trades: quotes, variations and safety
- Check ChatGPT facts, sources and calculations at work
- Your first-week ChatGPT rollout plan for a NZ team
Available in every region, for example Auckland, Canterbury and Wellington. See all locations.
Questions about this course
Do we need to do the half-day first?
No, if people already use ChatGPT a few times a week. If most of the group has never opened it, start with the essentials workshop.
Can we split the day into two shorter sessions?
Yes. Splitting it into two half-days about a week apart suits most groups. People try the morning's techniques on their own work in between and bring back questions.
Who owns the skill we build?
The person who builds it, inside your account or workspace. Your workspace settings decide whether it can be shared with colleagues. We do not keep a copy.
Ask about ChatGPT at work: the full-day workshop
- Send us a few linesHow many people, where you are, and the jobs that eat your week.
- We reply with a planA suggested session and format, plus what to bring: real quotes, emails and questions.
- Your team does the workAt your place or over video. They finish with ChatGPT doing real tasks, not demos.
- In person
- Remote
- Half-day workshop
- Full-day workshop
- Team rollout
Independent training by TheColab. Not affiliated with OpenAI.
Enquire
Tell us about your team. We reply by email with a suggested course and format.