TWO SILICON VALLEY LAWMAKERS want to reshape the AI narrative by connecting students with cutting-edge careers.
Congressmembers Sam Liccardo and Jimmy Panetta have co-authored a bill that would award tax credits to companies partnering with colleges to train students in technologies such as artificial intelligence. Liccardo unveiled the Supporting Knowledge through Industry-Led Learning (SKILL) Act at West Valley College on Monday.
Liccardo said working together, education and industry leaders can prepare students for the AI workforce sector and retrain adult workers in the field.
“We do have a future in an AI-empowered economy. By investing in people, we enable our workers … through this time of enormous technological transition,” Liccardo said. “Nvidia is hiring 3,000 software engineers. We know jobs are being created. We just need to make sure people are ready for them.”
Liccardo said the bill offers incentives for companies to invest in community colleges and state universities and offer internships to build a pipeline and curricula critical for next generation jobs.
Tax credits for businesses will be based on students completing programs within two years or less, he said, adding the backend of the tax credit is for hiring those students. Employers would receive a $2,500 credit for each student who completes this program, and an additional $2,500 for each graduate they hire.
“The SKILL Act turns disruption into opportunity,” Liccardo said. “Companies can build their workforce, and more Americans find a path to better jobs — and an economic future — in an AI-driven economy.”
Reaching deserving students
Bradley Davis, chancellor of the West Valley-Mission Community College District, said the legislation rewards employers who partner with the district to help design its curriculum, open labs, fund apprenticeships and hire the graduates from these programs.
“It channels that investment into two-year programs at public community colleges, where it reaches students who need it the most,” Davis said.
Liccardo focused on the West Valley-Mission Community College District because of his prior relationship with Davis while Liccardo was mayor of San Jose. The two had worked on various private-public partnerships to enable the college to develop programs that would connect students to careers.
“That’s not something we can say about every institution everywhere,” Liccardo told San José Spotlight. “We’ve got lots of great schools around here, but not all in our district. And the fact that we were able to identify both companies and students (means it can work).”
Louis Stewart, head of ecosystem development at Nvidia, said students, faculty and institutions need to be prepared to use AI.
“If we’re not helping to train the best of the best, then I think we’re falling short on our responsibility,” Stewart told San José Spotlight. “We have several programs at Nvidia, including our internship program, and we’re willing to work with students along their journey and make sure they’re hirable.”
West Valley College was recently awarded a $3.9 million federal grant to build a new semiconductor certificate program. Mission College is piloting a new AI workforce program with Intel and has created an AI certificate program through its partnership with Nvidia.
Four months to a six-figure career
Melvin Vaughn, dean of the School of Science and Math at West Valley College, said these programs provide students with economic mobility.
“Some just want to put food on the table. They just want to support their family,” Vaughn told San José Spotlight. “With this program they can receive a certificate within 15-16 weeks and be making $91,000 to start.”
Student Gabriel Huerta found a job working as an instrumentation and control technician at Valley Water after taking Mission College’s mechatronic technology program.
“That decision completely changed my career trajectory,” he told San José Spotlight. “This legislation will encourage more employers to invest in workforce development and partner with community colleges to hire graduates just like me.”
Valley Water paid for Huerta’s remaining associates degree classes and allowed him to use the facility’s equipment to complete labs. He plans on pursuing a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. Huerta said he started with a salary of $90,000 at Valley Water with a clear path to scale up to $140,000 as a journeyman.
Davis said the district wants its students to be on the forefront of what’s next.
“We can train our biology students to minimize the impact of server farms,” Davis told San José Spotlight. “We can train our engineering students to be in the forefront of technology development. In partnering with our private sector friends, we can get their information into the hands of our students and then out into the workforce almost instantaneously.”
Contact Lorraine Gabbert at lorrainegabbertsjspotlight@gmail.com.
This story originally appeared in San Jose Spotlight.