Mike McMahon, Managing Director of US Government Affairs at Microsoft and manager of Voices for Innovation, and Allyson Knox, formerly with Microsoft and a leading voice on education and workforce policy, recently held an in-depth conversation on AI skilling policy.
AI is changing workplaces and the workstreams of many jobs. Allyson discusses what we can do to support transitions and build an AI-powered workforce—and how Microsoft is supporting AI skilling through a number of initiatives.
Here are a few key points and soundbites from the conversation:
- The spread of AI broadly requires different skill sets, including people in the skilled trades who help build AI infrastructure. “We need a half-million more electricians across the United States,” according to Allyson. We also need HVAC technicians, steelworkers, and many more.
- Working in data centers requires special skills as well. Community colleges are now hosting data center academies, where students can earn training in data center maintenance and operations.
- Microsoft Elevate is an initiative aimed at helping three sectors benefit from AI: K-12 education, non-profits, and workforce development. As part of this program, Microsoft is partnering with the American Federation of Teachers, along with Anthropic and OpenAI, to support training for 400,000 teachers over the next three years. Crucially, as Allyson notes, “This is being designed by teachers, it is being implemented by teachers, and it’s tool agnostic… it’s whatever the teachers feel is most appropriate and meets their needs.”
- Through a partnership with the International Association of Workforce Boards, Microsoft is helping to train career counselors about AI literacy resources so they can better support job seekers.
- Allyson shared this key advice for VFI members: “In the age of AI when things are happening so fast and the language is shifting so quickly, I think we need more and more citizens to show up and share their perspective.”
