Microsoft, trade unions expand AI literacy push

Microsoft is partnering with North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU), a coalition of 14 national and international unions and over 330 state and local groups. 

What’s happening: The partners last week announced a slate of free AI literacy courses for the skilled trades, available on LinkedIn Learning.

• One course, called “AI Foundations for the Skilled Trades,” is built for apprentices and journey-level professionals, and explains how to integrate generative AI and Microsoft Copilot into day-to-day tasks. 
• Another, called “AI Fluency for Trades Educators,” is designed for faculty and staff in apprenticeship training environments and shows how Microsoft Copilot can be used for tasks such as lesson planning and assessments. 
• Each of the two courses consists of roughly 35 minutes of short videos and online chapter quizzes.  

Go deeper: Microsoft is also working with TradesFutures — a NABTU-affiliated nonprofit that recruits people for union apprenticeship programs — to “expand awareness of careers in data center construction alongside AI literacy and link opportunity with infrastructure being built today with the skills that will define tomorrow,” according to the announcement.

The big picture: As AI transforms American life — and sparks backlash over potential job losses and environmental impacts — Microsoft has been partnering with teachers’ unions, workforce boards, and community colleges to ease the transition. 

• In December 2023, the software giant partnered with the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). 
• This January, Microsoft announced its Community-First AI Infrastructure plan, which seeks to reassure communities that the company will reduce water usage, pay for its own electricity, create data center jobs, and provide AI training. 

What they’re saying: “Technology only fulfills its promise when it lifts people up, and the opportunity here is enormous,” Microsoft’s announcement says, emphasizing that AI tools for the skilled trades must be practical, trusted, and tailored.

• “Think about what that can mean for a contractor who’s running a small shop after a full day on the job: AI that helps draft and send invoices faster, reconcile receipts, and keep paperwork from piling up late at night,” it adds.