Key Moments
- Verizon is allocating $70 million to a nationwide AI training initiative targeting job seekers, small businesses, and educators.
- The program will leverage training content from IBM, Google, Anthropic, Microsoft, and OpenAI in partnership with major non-profit organizations such as Goodwill Industries.
- This initiative builds on Verizon’s prior $20 million AI reskilling program tied to 13,000 job cuts, bringing the combined effort to $70 million with an additional $50 million now committed.
Verizon Expands AI Training Push Across the United States
Verizon said on Wednesday that it is launching a $70 million, nationwide initiative aimed at expanding access to artificial intelligence training as the U.S. economy undergoes what the company described as a dramatic period of change.
The program is designed to reach job seekers, small business owners, and educators across the country, with the goal of equipping them with AI-related skills considered increasingly critical in the evolving labor market.
Partnerships With Non-Profits and Technology Providers
As part of the plan, the U.S. telecom company is teaming up with major non-profit organizations, including Goodwill Industries, to deliver the training. Verizon aims to provide AI education to hundreds of thousands of participants by using learning materials and resources supplied by several leading technology companies.
| Program Element | Details |
|---|---|
| Total new investment | $70 million |
| Target participants | Job seekers, small businesses, educators |
| Key non-profit partner | Goodwill Industries |
| Training content providers | IBM, Google, Anthropic, Microsoft, OpenAI |
Verizon plans to rely on training resources from IBM, Google, Anthropic, Microsoft and OpenAI as it scales the effort through its non-profit partners.
CEO Schulman Calls for Broader Corporate Participation
Verizon CEO Dan Schulman framed the initiative as both an economic and societal imperative.
“AI will change the face of the workforce,” Verizon CEO Dan Schulman said in an interview. “You have to do this in order to protect the democracy.”
Schulman argued that large corporations should collectively increase their financial support for AI skills development to help workers transition into roles that require new technical capabilities.
Schulman wants large companies to join the effort to boost funding to help workers acquire skills for specific AI-related jobs. “It’s in the self-interest of all business leaders to step up,” Schulman said. “If every Fortune 100 (company) put $50 million or $70 million into this, we have a multibillion-dollar fund.”
Building on Earlier Workforce Reskilling Investments
The latest commitment extends a prior Verizon initiative aimed at employees affected by job cuts. Verizon previously announced that it would invest $20 million to help departing staff members develop AI capabilities after the company disclosed plans to reduce its workforce by 13,000 positions.
The newly announced $70 million program includes an additional $50 million on top of that earlier effort, significantly expanding Verizon’s total financial commitment to AI-related training.
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