Verizon, the major U.S. telecommunications company, announced plans to commit $70 million to AI training. The program will target job seekers, small businesses and education professionals, with nationwide delivery as its goal.
Verizon announced on the 23rd that it would commit a total of $70 million to an initiative providing AI training nationwide for job seekers, small businesses and education professionals. The company will partner with nonprofit organizations including Goodwill Industries and use training resources from multiple companies, with the aim of providing AI training to tens of thousands of people.
The training will use educational materials from companies including IBM, Google, Anthropic, Microsoft and OpenAI, and is positioned as an initiative aimed at closing skills gaps in the labor market. Verizon CEO Dan Schulman said AI could transform the workforce and indicated that the initiative could serve as a role model to inspire other companies.
He called on other large companies to participate and expressed his intention to promote funding for workers to acquire the skills needed for specific AI-related jobs. Verizon announced last year that it planned to commit $20 million to support AI skills development for departing employees, and this new initiative adds $50 million to that amount.
The announcement is viewed as an expanded version of Verizon’s previous support for AI training. Depending on the addition of participating companies and the scale of implementation, it could develop into a broader nationwide movement supporting education and employment.