Verizon's $70 million AI skills pledge includes $20 million already set aside for departing workers

Verizon's new AI training program carries a $70 million price tag, but $20 million of it was already committed. According to the company's announcement on Wednesday, Verizon AI Skills for America combines $50 million in new funding with its existing Reskilling and Career Transition Fund for departing workers. Verizon set up that fund last year to help exiting employees gain AI skills, after announcing plans to cut 13,000 jobs, Reuters reported.

The result is one program with two audiences. One is the carrier's own outgoing staff. The other is the wider public: job seekers, early-career professionals, displaced workers, educators and small businesses, all of whom can use the training at no charge, the company said. Verizon aims to reach hundreds of thousands of people, according to Reuters.

Most of what learners get is online. Verizon is assembling a single portal of courses from IBM, Google, Microsoft, Anthropic, Coursera and OpenAI. The program's sign-up page lists more than 200 courses and shareable certificates, open to anyone 18 or older in the U.S. and its territories, with no Verizon commitment required. Examples on the program page include one-hour beginner Google courses that use Gemini and a three-hour intermediate course on automating business tasks with Anthropic's Claude. The company says comparable premium AI training can cost more than $700 per person per year. Reuters reported that the platform will tailor training to specific occupations.

The in-person layer is narrower. Goodwill Industries International, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation and the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship will provide hands-on coaching, curriculum guidance and local support meant to turn online coursework into usable skills. The initiative launches nationwide, but its "core wrap-around services" will be available only in select regional markets, the company said.

Goodwill's chief executive, Steven Preston, framed the effort around what hiring managers are now asking for. "The requirement for AI in job descriptions by employers has just gone up exponentially," he told Reuters. "So they're looking for people who can apply AI in specific skills." Many workers see AI training as a "black hole" because they do not know where to begin, he said. Goodwill began offering digital skills training in 2017, as employers demanded technology skills across a widening range of jobs.

Donna Epps, who leads Verizon's responsible business function, said the company chose partners like Goodwill because they already have a strong local presence and can offer hands-on help.

Schulman is also using the announcement to lobby his peers. He wants other large companies to help fund programs that prepare workers for specific AI-related jobs, Reuters reported. "It's in the self-interest of all business leaders to step up," he said. "If every Fortune 100 (company) put $50 million or $70 million into this, we have a multibillion-dollar fund."

For scale, Verizon reported $138.2 billion in revenue for 2025. Its new commitment to the program is $50 million.