Last week, the Trump administration released its Artificial Intelligence action plan, outlining government efforts to secure American leadership in AI, including workforce development. A critical component was understated: America’s 1,100-plus community colleges that are already offering AI training for workers spanning tech, healthcare, manufacturing and other industries.
Despite a strong focus on the workforce, the AI action plan mentions community colleges only once, in passing, regarding collaboration with national laboratories.
More than half of America’s 37 million STEM workers are skilled technical workers who work in jobs that require more education than a high school diploma but not necessarily a university-level education. They power our industries of today and tomorrow and are also a bedrock of America’s middle class. These workers will need access to AI skills to flourish in their careers, and community colleges are affordable, accessible destinations for that training.
As a study from Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology recently pointed out, community colleges are underused by policymakers to scale AI education. Prioritizing AI skill development at community colleges is a sensible and strategic first step to accomplish the goal of ensuring that American workers and families thrive in the AI era.
The action plan rightfully prioritizes AI skill development in the workforce education programs at the departments of Labor, Education and Commerce, and the National Science Foundation. Total federal workforce funding is spread across a complex web of more than 43 federal programs in nine agencies, but these four agencies lead the majority of programs that expand community college training for AI.
New America’s Future of Work and Innovation Economy initiative specializes in studying capacity-building for emerging tech workforce development at community colleges, including AI. Last fall, we partnered with the NSF to launch a national research and technical assistance program dedicated to this goal. An initiative we have been following that is well-positioned to inform our AI talent strategy for community colleges is the National Applied AI Consortium (NAAIC).
Launched last year with NSF funding and led by Miami Dade College, Houston Community College, and Maricopa Community College District, NAAIC created a national community of practice that has already supported 950 community college leaders from 40 states through training, conferences, webinars, mentorships and more. Through partnerships with Amazon, Microsoft, Intel, Google, OpenAI and others, these colleges are living the daily reality of scaling and strengthening AI workforce education.
Four capacity-building priorities rise as areas where the government should focus its funding, strategy and coordination to scale AI education at community colleges:
—Build capacity for community college baccalaureates in AI: Nearly half of U.S. states permit community colleges to offer applied bachelor’s degrees that are designed to meet defined labor market needs. Applied bachelor’s in AI now exist at all three of the colleges leading NAAIC. These programs complement, not compete with, university programs by offering students a local, affordable and workforce-oriented path to degree completion at the same institution where they may have completed an associate’s degree, certificate or dual enrollment. They are useful in emerging industries such as biotechnology and are poised to increase AI skills in states where employers need skills beyond those of an associate’s degree or non-degree credentials. Agencies should fund technical assistance and coordinate with states to support their expansion.
—Scale the gold standard for employer engagement: Employer partnerships are critical for college workforce programs, but they often need enhancement. Traditional advisory committees are too ad hoc and informal to meet employer needs with precision and granularity. Big Tech has invested heavily in community college AI education, which has been helpful. However, their skill frameworks don’t always translate to small- and medium-size businesses, which employ 47 percent of Americans. NAAIC is helping colleges scale the Building Industry Leadership Team model for AI, engaging big and small employers alike. BILT committees are the gold standard of employer engagement. They help industry and colleges co-create skill frameworks and curricula within a window of 12-36 months. Turbocharging the adoption of BILT across community colleges should be a priority.
—Promote work-based learning around AI: The best preparation for work is work experience. In our research interviews with students enrolled in community college AI programs, the value of work-based learning was clear in AI degrees and short-term training alike. Employer-sponsored capstone projects, internships and micro-internships, co-ops, registered apprenticeships and youth apprenticeships focused on AI skill attainment are key. Pilots are already underway to embed AI-focused work-based learning opportunities at community colleges, but ensuring scale and quality warrants standards development and an all-of-government approach.
—Upskill K-12 and college faculty: Educators cannot deliver AI training if they are not up to speed on what to teach. We must upskill community college and K-12 instructors around AI. NAAIC has supported 400 faculty to earn industry certifications to gain the cutting-edge skills they need to effectively teach AI, ranging from Microsoft’s AI Fundamentals to Amazon’s AWS AI practitioner. NAAIC and the University of Florida are also developing a national AI framework for high school partners. Aligned with executive orders and the AI action plan, the framework will help better align career and technical education with academic programs relating to AI skills. Instructor upskilling should be systematized through dedicated resources.
As the AI action plan states, federal efforts should ensure that American workers and families thrive in the AI era. Community colleges are an essential ingredient to fulfilling that mandate. The federal government should center community colleges in its AI action plan implementation to ensure that America has the skilled technical workforce necessary to realize the promise of the Golden Era for AI.
