AI Readiness Lab Helps Regions Prepare for Workforce Transformation

National nonprofit Opportunity@Work announced the launch of the AI Readiness Lab (AIRLab), a new initiative developed in partnership with the Brookings Institution, bringing together six leading regions to understand and act on how artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping local economies and workforces.

The inaugural AIRLab cohort is coming together to understand and adapt to how AI will reshape regional economies and pathways for workers; particularly those workers Skilled Through Alternative Routes (STARs) rather than bachelor's degrees – and includes: the Birmingham Business Alliance in the Birmingham, Alabama metro area; CenterState CEO in Syracuse and Central New York; the CEOs of Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP) in Indiana; the Greater Cleveland Partnership in Ohio; GREATER MSP in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota; and the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation in San Diego, California.

Over the next six months, the economic development organizations across the six distinct regions will use contextualized regional analytics and a national peer learning network to translate labor market data and efforts into localized action to ensure everyone can benefit from AI in the future of work – driving lasting economic opportunity in their own backyards.

"AIRLab exists because the AI transition in our labor market is happening region by region, and no region should have to navigate it alone," said Audrey Mickahail, SVP, Market Strategy & Solutions, Opportunity@Work. "The six leaders in this inaugural cohort are doing the hard, deliberate work of building an intentional strategy for their local economies – one that protects the pathways today's workers rely upon while creating the ones the AI economy will demand. Their willingness to work and learn alongside each other, share what's working, and build this playbook together is exactly the kind of coordinated leadership this moment requires."

Today's launch comes as joint research from Opportunity@Work and Brookings revealed that AI's impact on the labor market extends far beyond college graduates. More than 15 million STARs hold jobs highly exposed to AI, representing 43% of all U.S. workers in the most exposed roles. Nearly 11 million of those STARs work in "Gateway" occupations, the stepping-stone jobs that have historically enabled workers to build skills and move into higher-wage careers. All told, nearly half of the pathways between Gateway jobs and higher-paying "Destination" jobs are highly exposed to AI.