How Employers Are Helping Prep the Youngest Generation of Workers in AI

By Cloey Callahan
Mar 27, 2024 10:00 AM ET
Colored sketch of a person at a desk with multiple robotic arms. One typing on a laptop, one using a phone, one writing on paper.
Image courtesy of WorkLife

Originally published by WorkLife

Learning AI doesn’t need to just start at the higher education level either. IBM’s commitment to train 2 million learners in AI by the end of 2026 begins much earlier. Most recently, the tech giant partnered with Usher’s New Look – a nonprofit organization dedicated to training under-resourced young people to become leaders – to provide free career readiness training through IBM SkillsBuild. It has a significant focus on AI and helping students, as early as eighth grade, understand how it relates to workplace skills.

In a recent U.S. YouGov survey on AI in education, 61% of respondents reported it is very or somewhat necessary for K-12 students to learn AI-related skills for their future careers. “This is going to be completely transformative for our organization and for the youth that we serve,” said Careshia Moore, president and CEO of Usher’s New Look.

For Usher’s New Look, which works with people aged between 14 and 24 years old, the training will include resume-writing with generative AI, building their own AI chatbot and mastering the art of AI prompting. Plus, students will have access to more than 1,000 free courses in IBM SkillsBuild as well as digital credentials, including coursework in AI fundamentals, generative AI, AI ethics, prompt writing, machine learning, AI to help the environment, and improving customer service with AI.

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