Building a pipeline of state and local tech workers

PHILADELPHIA — More than 250 CEOs from companies across various sectors came together this week on a joint letter urging computer science and artificial intelligence to be made required parts of every school’s curriculum.

The CEOs, who represent tech giants like Microsoft, Dell, Salesforce and IBM, said in the letter that requiring computer science and AI education could unlock “$660 billion in economic potential every year for everyday Americans, and address the skills gap we currently face.”

“This is not just an educational issue; It’s about closing skills and income gaps that have persisted for generations,” they continued.

The letter from the CEOs comes as state and local governments wrestle with how to build a talent pipeline to fill thousands of open jobs, especially in tech and cybersecurity. And with the need for AI skills coming to the forefront, it’s clear that the very nature of government work will change in the coming years.

Nonprofit Govern for America highlighted the challenge ahead in a new report, which it unveiled at the Mid-Year Meeting of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers last week in Philadelphia. The organization, which works to build the next generation of public sector leaders, found that while many states have formed task forces and governors are prioritizing AI development and research, a lot of work lies ahead in filling workforce gaps, especially as more people retire.

The report found that not enough states have a point person to lead on AI, but that there is an “excess supply” of young people who are interested in working in government but are not being matched to these roles effectively. Having a strong AI leader atop an AI Center of Excellence could help motivate governments to fill those gaps. Govern for America also said a fellowship program connecting young workers with available roles and with their peers could play a key role too.

“Having states be able to learn from each other, those people can consolidate those use cases before they try something out,” Talita Elizeu, Govern for America’s director of partnerships, said in an interview at the NASCIO conference. “They can go to their peer states and really save themselves the trouble if it's already not worked elsewhere… What a lot of state CIOs and state leaders are looking for now is people dedicated to figuring out what's going to work and learning from other states as well.”

Some states already appear to be making strides. Pennsylvania, for example, piloted the use of the generative AI software ChatGPT in a bid to get its employees comfortable with using the tool and found that employees saved on average 95 minutes a day when using it for writing, research, summarization and IT support.

“Our folks found a lot of value,” said Harrison MacRae, the state’s director of emerging technology, during a panel discussion at NASCIO.

Keeping up that momentum is key, McRae said, and what will help is letting employees experiment further with AI and work out how it can be useful, regardless of whether they are in a technology-heavy role or not. Having that democratic process in place will help workers get comfortable with the technology and be open-minded about where it can be useful.

“We do have the ability for folks to surface ideas, or folks to raise their hand,” he said. “There's a clear process. There's also a lot of people who will shoot me an email and say, ‘Hey, I'm really excited about this AI thing.’ And I say, let's talk a little bit. That is something that speaks to our ability to continue to communicate and build up those folks in other teams.”

Govern for America’s report also urged states to have “structured partnerships” with universities to encourage tech and AI talent, and an effort around cybersecurity in Louisiana shows what is possible.

In that state, Louisiana State University expanded its security operations center to protect various institutions across the state, with students running the program in partnership with management and incident response firm TekStream and Amazon Web Services. Not only does it help protect the state from vulnerabilities and respond to cyber incidents, the SOC also helps produce a pipeline of cybersecurity employees.

“You're creating a pool of people we're calling human resilience, which is, with a known quantity and a known level of quality, I can draw from an infinite pool, resources that are constantly graduating,” Judd Robins, TekStream’s executive vice president of consulting services, said in an interview at NASCIO’s conference. “It's attractive for not just the state, but people that are looking to have a cybersecurity presence. They don't have to look outside the state.”

For other states looking to build similar talent pipelines, the time to start is right now, Robins said. It’s a long-term problem that needs long-term solutions and investment in future generations.

“You can't buy your way out of this problem,” Robins said.