New York aims to train up to 40,000 residents for AI-ready jobs
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A new AI workforce training and upskilling center in the state builds upon Gov. Kathy Hochul’s recent efforts to prepare residents for tech of the future.
New York is pouring $10 million into a workforce training and job placement initiative aimed at placing residents in careers that leverage artificial intelligence, state officials announced last week.
More than $3 million of that total will support the development of the AI Jobs Institute, a hub where residents will undergo training and courses to develop AI skills. Businesses can also receive assistance adopting AI services through the institution, state officials said in an announcement.
“Artificial intelligence is transforming our economy, and New York is making sure our workers are prepared to seize the opportunities that come with it,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement. “By investing in our people and partnering with industry, we are building a workforce ready to compete for the good-paying jobs of tomorrow and ensuring the benefits of this technology reach communities across New York.”
The AI Jobs Institute aims to train up to 40,000 residents by 2032, an effort that will be spearheaded by the New York-based nonprofit Pursuit, which is dedicated to workforce development.
The initiative will “allow us to try a bunch of new and different innovative workforce training solutions, like building out AI apprenticeships,” Nick Simmons, CEO of Pursuit, told Route Fifty.
Simmons pointed to a January 2025 report from the World Economic Forum that projected that 59% of the global workforce will require reskilling or upskilling by 2030 as employers look to future-proof their operations with technology like AI.
“In New York, that translates to millions and millions and millions of New Yorkers [who need] to be able to meet the moment — the AI moment — and if the economy is going to be able to grow, if businesses are going to grow here, and if people are going to be able to access that economic opportunity and mobility, we've really got to do a major investment,” Simmons said.
Participants will be selected to undergo workforce training and job placement pathways on an application basis. The program will prioritize supporting low-income adult learners in an effort to address wealth and employment inequities among communities, he explained.
“We think talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not,” Simmons said. “We’re not leaving anybody behind because, in tech revolution moments in the past, often it’s been the wealthiest and most well-off are getting access [to training] first … and then years later, lower-income communities get it.”
Additional supporters of the AI Jobs Institute include Anthropic, Google.org, OpenAI, the New York Jobs CEO Council and some New York City agencies, among others.
The institute will also help small businesses and nonprofits to pilot and scale AI solutions, generate data-based policies for state and federal AI workforce strategies and convene employers, talent and industry leaders across the state to address tech workforce needs and demands.
State leaders like Hochul and other stakeholders “are seeing that we can’t have history repeat itself in that way, and we need to make sure we’re making big investments so that everybody can share in the gains of the AI economy,” he added.
The institute builds upon a slew of recent AI workforce development efforts from Hochul. The New York governor launched the state’s FutureWorks Commission in March to study and assess how AI impacts the state’s workforce and economy and expanded a pilot program statewide the following month that offers state employees AI training and tools.
Gov. Hochul also announced the expansion of an initiative earlier this month that allows adults ages 25 to 55 to enroll in certain community colleges for free to gain qualifications for “high-growth sectors,” such as AI.
As part of Hochul’s broader efforts to support AI workforce development, the AI Jobs Institute will be “an in-person hub where we can bring together learners with employers, researchers, community-college trainers, policymakers, funders and tech experts so that we can come together, make connections and to build solutions together,” Simmons said.
The institute will be based in Queens, New York, and construction of the 40,000 square foot facility is slated to start this winter, he said. It is expected to open in mid-2027.