Today, we announced $10 million in Google.org funding to support the Manufacturing Institute (MI) to prepare the U.S. workforce for a new era of industrial innovation. This funding will equip 40,000 current and future manufacturing employees with critical AI skills and expand apprenticeship opportunities to 15 U.S. regions.
New AI training for manufacturing workers
Google.org’s funding will enable the MI to develop two new courses for shopfloor workers:
- AI 101 for Manufacturing, which will adapt existing AI training from Google to specifically fit the manufacturing environment
- AI for Advanced Manufacturing Technicians, which will be newly developed by the MI.
The funding will also help the MI provide Google’s new AI Professional Certificate to current and future manufacturing workers at no cost.
More training and scholarships across the U.S.
As part of the initiative, the MI will also launch new Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME USA) chapters in at least 15 new regions. FAME USA, which already operates in 46 hubs across the country, trains advanced maintenance technicians and builds durable talent pipelines for manufacturers. Google.org is also supporting the mikeroweWORKS Foundation to provide Work Ethic Scholarships to FAME students, a program that will provide financial assistance to eligible participants completing their manufacturing programs.
This funding builds on Google’s previous commitment to support infrastructure and skilled trades. Google recently announced a similar effort with the electrical training ALLIANCE (etA) to train electrical workers throughout the country. The initiative is part of Google.org’s AI Opportunity Fund, which helps Americans develop essential AI skills by funding best-in-class workforce development and education organizations.
Google’s U.S. manufacturing partners employ thousands of Americans who are building servers, networking infrastructure, quantum computing chips and other advanced components. We believe it’s critical to train a broader set of American workers on advanced manufacturing skills.
