AMERICA ACHIEVES INC

COMPETITIVENESS & OPPORTUNITY:TECH HUBS PLANNING AND APPLICATION SUPPORTWE SUCCESSFULLY PROVIDED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO REGIONAL COALITIONS APPLYING TO BECOME TECH HUBS AFTER WE HAD PREVIOUSLY CALLED FOR CONGRESS TO APPROPRIATE $500 MILLION FOR THE TECH HUBS PROGRAM. WE SUPPORTED A TOTAL OF 13 REGIONS ACROSS PHASES I AND II OF THE TECH HUBS COMPETITION, OF WHICH SIX ULTIMATELY RECEIVED LARGE-SCALE IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS, A WIN RATE OF 46% (MORE THAN 15X THE NATIONAL WIN RATE). TOGETHER, THESE SIX HUBS THAT WE HELPED DESIGN ACCOUNTED FOR A TOTAL OF $225M IN FEDERAL FUNDING. (CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O)AMERICA ACHIEVES WORKED WITH EVERY REGIONAL COALITION TO HELP THEM CLEARLY UNDERSTAND THE OPPORTUNITY AND IMPORTANCE OF EXPANDING EFFECTIVE AND ACCESSIBLE CAREER PATHWAYS IN THE CONTEXT OF THEIR PLANS, AND TO LEVERAGE A DATA-DRIVEN APPROACH AS WELL AS THROUGH INCLUSIVE GOVERNANCE PRACTICES AND WRAPAROUND SERVICES FOCUSED ON ADDRESSING KNOWN BARRIERS TO PARTICIPATION, LIKE CHILDCARE AND TRANSPORTATION. THESE SIX REGIONS ALONG WITH FIVE OTHER FINALISTS THAT WE SUPPORTED ALL HAVE ECONOMIC AND TALENT DEVELOPMENT PLANS SUPPORTED BY MULTI-SECTOR COALITIONS, AND ALL ARE NOW ON A PATH TO ENSURING THAT LOCAL RESIDENTS CONTRIBUTE TO AND BENEFIT FROM HIGH-GROWTH TECH SECTORS ACROSS THE COUNTRY FROM DRONES AND PHOTONICS TO LITHIUM BATTERIES AND PERSONALIZED MEDICINE. THESE TECH HUBS AIM TO CREATE MORE THAN 100,000 JOBS AND ALIGN TALENT PIPELINES WITH THESE OPPORTUNITIES TO ENSURE FAIR ACCESS TO PATHWAYS TO GOOD JOBS FOR LOCAL RESIDENTS AND UNDERSERVED INDIVIDUALS AND COMMUNITIES. .THESE REGIONS OFFER PROMISING PATHWAYS TO HIGH-VALUE CREDENTIALS, INCLUDING INDUSTRY-DESIGNED AND MORE TRADITIONAL PATHS THROUGH THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM TO HELP LEARNERS SECURE WORK IN THE HIGH-GROWTH SECTORS. SEVERAL EXAMPLES FOLLOW:THE TULSA HUB FOR EQUITABLE & TRUSTWORTHY AUTONOMY (THETA) WILL TRANSFORM THE TULSA, OK REGION INTO A GLOBALLY COMPETITIVE HUB FOR THE DEVELOPMENT, TESTING, MANUFACTURING, AND DEPLOYMENT OF CYBER-SECURE AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS, SUCH AS DRONES. AS A RESULT OF THIS WORK, WE HAVE SEEN NEW PATHWAYS TO CREDENTIALS IMPLEMENTED. THE TEAS CAREER ADVANCEMENT PROGRAM (T-CAP), LED BY ATLAS SCHOOL, IS A VOCATIONAL-LEARNING MODEL THAT WILL PROVIDE INDUSTRY-DESIGNED CONTINUING EDUCATION MODULES TO UPSKILL NEW HIRES AND EXISTING WORKERS WITH KEY TEAS SPECIALTIES. THE TCC CERTIFICATE WILL CREATE A NEW SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING CERTIFICATE PROGRAM THAT PROVIDES A PATHWAY INTO TWO- AND FOUR-YEAR DEGREE PROGRAMS IN THE REGION AND PROVIDES STUDENTS WITH INDUSTRY EXPOSURE THROUGH ON-THE-JOB TRAINING. TULSA UNIVERSITY HAS DESIGNED A MINOR IN AI FOR AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS TO COMPLEMENT THE EXISTING COMPUTER SCIENCE AND CYBERSECURITY CURRICULUM, INCLUDING MARKETING SUPPORT TO PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH CROSS-DISCIPLINARY OPPORTUNITIES TO BUILD AI LITERACY. THE TEAS CAREER ADVANCEMENT PROGRAM WILL ALSO BE AN ESSENTIAL AVENUE FOR ENHANCING THE TEAS-SPECIFIC SKILL SETS OF WORKERS ACROSS THE TULSA REGION AND ENABLING LOCAL INDUSTRY TO LEVERAGE THE REGION'S VAST WORKFORCE WITH TRANSFERABLE SKILLS. T-CAP WILL TARGET NEW HIRES AND THOSE TRANSITIONING TO TEAS CAREERS AND WILL FOCUS ON PROVIDING TEAS-RELEVANT SKILLS, SUCH AS MACHINE LEARNING AND THE PYTHON PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE. THIS PROGRAM ENABLES TEAS EMPLOYERS TO SAVE COSTS ON RECRUITING AND RELOCATING TALENT WHILE OFFERING THE LOCAL KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY TECHNICAL WORKFORCE AN AVENUE TO TRANSITION INDUSTRIES EARLY OR MID-CAREER. IT IS AN EXCITING EXAMPLE OF THE TRAINING AND NEW LEARNING BEING PROVIDED TO ADULT LEARNERS THROUGH THESE GRANT OPPORTUNITIES.THE WISCONSIN BIOHEALTH TECH HUB AIMS TO DRAW ON WISCONSIN'S STORIED MANUFACTURING HISTORY AND ITS EMERGING RESEARCH STRENGTHS IN BIOTECH TO POSITION THE STATE AS A GLOBAL LEADER IN PERSONALIZED MEDICINE, AN EMERGING HEALTHCARE APPROACH THAT TAILORS TESTS, TREATMENTS, AND THERAPIES INFORMED BY A PATIENT'S UNIQUE GENETIC CODE, MEDICAL RECORD, AND ENVIRONMENT. THIS COALITION INCLUDES MILWAUKEE AREA TECHNICAL COLLEGE (MATC-MILWAUKEE) AND MADISON AREA TECHNICAL COLLEGE (MADISON COLLEGE), WHICH WILL BE EXPANDING AND LAUNCHING CREDENTIAL PATHWAYS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH WRAPAROUND AND CAREER NAVIGATION SUPPORTS FROM REGIONAL WORKFORCE BOARDS TO MEET THE NEEDS OF EMPLOYERS AND TRAINEES/WORKERS TO ENSURE A BROADER AND DEEPER TALENT POOL. OVERALL, THE PROJECT AIMS TO PREPARE AND PLACE WORKERS IN GOOD JOBS IN BIOHEALTH, PERSONALIZED HEALTH, AND ASSOCIATED MANUFACTURING AND TECHNOLOGY SECTORS WITHIN FIVE YEARS, WITH 30% OF THESE WORKERS COMING FROM HISTORICALLY UNDER-REPRESENTED RACIAL/ETHNIC GROUPS.HEADWATERS HUB SEEKS TO ESTABLISH MONTANA AS A GLOBAL LEADER IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTION OF "SMART PHOTONIC SENSORS'' PRIMARILY OPTICAL AND LASER TECHNOLOGIES AND WAYS THAT LOCAL BUSINESSES AND WORKERS CAN ENSURE CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY, IN COMBINATION WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND MACHINE LEARNING, CAN BE APPLIED TO SELF-DRIVING VEHICLES, EMISSIONS TRACKING, AND FARM AND WILDFIRE MANAGEMENT, AMONG OTHER APPLICATIONS. MONTANA'S PROPOSAL CENTERS ON RURAL AND TRIBAL COMMUNITIES AND SEEKS TO ENSURE THAT THESE COMMUNITIES HELP LEAD HUB PROJECTS AND SHARE IN THEIR EXPECTED BENEFITS, PARTICULARLY WITH REGARD TO JOB CREATION.