Python or JavaScript programming.
These are not the best languages, but they are very approachable for beginners and open up so much optionality without too much difficulty.
Python gets you backend development (to use with your SQL), AI/ML, stats/science, simple desktop utilities, command line tools, and pygame for simple video games. Lots of things to explore.
JavaScript gets you web frontend, web backend (to use with your SQL), and gets you the "full stack" experience for writing web applications. There are also some game/3D tools where you can write little video games.
Either language would be a fantastic starting point into the world of programming. Both languages are in high demand, with JavaScript having a bit of a lead.
After you have one of these under your belt for a year, pick up the other one. Then reach for something totally different, like Rust, Swift, or Go. Something statically typed would be great. Make sure to inquire about what each language excels at - you're ultimately wanting to use the language to solve problems you're interested in.
Python and JavaScript are easy to pick up and fun to learn. There are a lot of interactive courses, and either language will serve you in your career no matter where it goes.
There are abundant materials and interactive courses for these languages, and some of them are even free. With your L&D budget you can probably sample several different ones or perhaps learn different aspects of each language.
