General Motors was among more than three dozen companies attending the kick-off event for the YSU/IBM IT Workforce Accelerator.

The program is designed to provide students and the local workforce with skills needed for high-tech jobs in the growing digital economy.

AI or Artificial Intelligence is expected to create more than 130 million new jobs by 2022.  General Motors was represented by Kathy Clegg, Vice President of Workforce Development.  GM recently announced a partnering for a $2 billion battery plant in the valley, and it will need a skilled workforce.

"We're talking 2,000 jobs, and when you look at the changes in the industry and the skills required to come with us on our journey, this workshop provides us an opportunity to explore different pathways for people for opportunities for those jobs," Clegg said. 

And to keep pace with innovations, another 12-million workers may need to be re-skilled. That's where Akron-based Goodyear sees a benefit in what YSU and IBM are doing.

"Having an opportunity where we can even bring in outside talent with re-skilled training, I think is going to be a big win for us. Our management saw the need for it and the benefits we might get from it, and therefore we are here to investigate how this is going to benefit us," Goodyear spokesman Harsha Hanish said. 

The future is digital. In fields such as software engineering, data science, analytics, and cybersecurity, and the goal here is to help students and area workers accelerate their progress to promising careers.