At Google’s headquarters in Reston on Tuesday, Governor Glenn Youngkin announced a partnership with the company to make an artificial intelligence-based state workforce launchpad. The AI launchpad, Virginia Has Jobs AI, is a subsidiary of the Virginia Works campaign started by Youngkin in late February.
Bryan Slater, Virginia Secretary of Labor, highlights the accomplishments of Virginia Works since its inception and discusses the platform's capabilities in the job market.
“Five short months later, we have engaged nearly 200,000 visitors on the website, had over 39 in-person or virtual hiring events across the Commonwealth, had over 530 employers participate in those events, and had over 15,000 job seekers submit 17,000 applications for over 18,000 open positions,” said Slater.
AI has been an increasingly large aspect of the job market, according to Youngkin. Additionally, utilizing Google's capabilities was a significant part of the puzzle in forming this partnership. Bronagh Friel, head of Partnerships at Grow with Google, notes that Google and Virginia have maintained a positive relationship since the company established its presence in Northern Virginia. Additionally, the demand for AI jobs was another reason that the partnership was made, according to Friel.
“Virginia is consistently ranked among the top states searching for AI jobs,” said Friel. “We are honored to partner in giving Virginia residents access to AI training programs. This is the kind of forward-thinking approach that we need to ensure that all Americans have the opportunity to succeed in the digital economy.”
The program utilizes the training courses and modules that Google already offers to prepare and certify members of the workforce for integrating AI into the workplace. These courses are conducted asynchronously, allowing professionals to acquire the skills necessary to increase their earning potential or secure a job in the market.
On hand for the event was Brandon Lacasse, who completed some of the training courses that Google now provides to all Virginians. He explains that after attending trade school, he was unsure of his career path until he joined IBM.
“I really wanted to do programming, but wasn’t sure how to go about that,” said Lacasse. “I found out about the Google Career Certificates and took the “IT automation with Python” one. That was a game changer for me.”
Youngkin echoes the sentiment put forth by Lacasse, stating that he did not know where to find the resources to set himself up for the job he wanted. Youngkin states that finding the perfect job for many Virginians is difficult due to “a pathway to get there that people do not know exists.”
“Virginia Works is also an action statement,” said Youngkin. “It is that Virginia works. We have so many open jobs ready for people to find that next career or to take that next step.”
Slater reports that there are over 200,000 open jobs in Virginia. Of those, Youngkin states that over half of those jobs are open to people without a college degree, thus increasing the opportunities for those who did not choose to pursue higher education. Friel furthers the point made by Youngkin by explaining that many open jobs can be “filled by people with the right skills and training” regardless of a college degree.
Youngkin was very complimentary of the ways Google helps this initiative get off the ground and make a difference for his constituents. Not only were the capabilities something that Youngkin mentioned, but the convenience to the user was of note.
“Google has helped us bring to everyone a suite of capabilities to get on that elevator to get on that ride up to the top of one’s career and to do it in a way that fits their needs,” said Youngkin.
Youngkin and Slater both use the analogy of a library to explain the 10,000 scholarships that are available to people courtesy of Google. The two explained that once a person has “checked out” the scholarship, they can “return” it or “renew” it to complete another course. Youngkin goes as far as to call these scholarships “golden tickets” to users.
Multiple times, Youngkin emphasized that AI is not going to take jobs from Virginians. In fact, he stated that AI will create more jobs, especially in cybersecurity, allowing individuals to work at data centers in the state. Lauren Bacon Smith, chief people officer at Enabled Intelligence, shared a similar viewpoint to Youngkin's.
“Everyone thinks of AI and the fear of it replacing jobs,” said Bacon Smith. “We’re here today, though, talking about how many jobs it is creating. At its foundation, there has to be human-skilled technically to build the technology.”
To further alleviate potential concerns, in Youngkin’s opinion, he points to the partnership with Google as a way to increase the number of Virginians employed and skilled for the future. He points out that AI will become increasingly involved in business over time, and preparing for it early is crucial.
“This is a chance for Virginia to lead once again in talent development in a way that sets a new standard for how we collaborate together,” said Youngkin.