Afraid New Battery Plants Will Expand the Talent Shortage? Consider African Americans for Tech Positions

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May 04, 2023, 08:38 ET

BATTLE CREEK, Mich., May 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- "The advancement of Artificial Intelligence in computer training and development of electric vehicle, battery and semi-conductor plants has cleared the path for increased participation of diverse young people within the growing Michigan Information Technology cluster. In fact, a portion of this press release was written by ChatGPT," states Ida Byrd-Hill, CEO of Automation Workz, a top 10 ranked U.S. cybersecurity bootcamp, known for preparing low-income, women and people of color for tech careers.

The Michigan information technology occupation cluster is overwhelmingly male (65.4%) overwhelmingly white (77.2%) and within the prime working ages of 25+ (88.4%). Although young people ages 19-24 have been tech savvy consumers in the past decade, they only comprise 6.9% of the information technology workforce. African Americans comprise 7.6% of this workforce.

The most in-demand job in this cluster has been software developers as they have been leading automation, the process of using technology to perform tasks that were previously performed by humans across many industries, including healthcare, manufacturing, transportation, and retail. However, the Michigan Information Technology Industry Cluster Workforce Analysis 2022 identified 22 jobs that make up this cluster that grew at a rate of 22% from 2011 -2021, a much faster pace than the total statewide employment growth of 7.4%.

Michigan IT Cluster Occupations 2022
Computer and Information Systems Managers	Market Research Analysts
Computer and Office Machine Repairers	Marketing Specialists
Computer Network Architects	Marketing Managers
Computer Network Support Specialists	Network and Computer Systems Administrators
Computer Programmers	Project Management Specialists
Computer Systems Analysts	Sales Representatives of Services
Computer Trainers	Sales Representatives, Technical and Scientific Products
Computer User Support Specialists	Software Developers
Data Scientists	Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers
Electrical, Electronic, and Electromechanical Assemblers	Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers
Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers	Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers
Information Security Analysts	Web and Digital Interface Designers
Management Analysts	Web Developers

During this same period, the average annual salaries in Information Technology increased by more than 30%, from $75,500 in 2011 to $98,700 in 2021. While this cluster has a projected growth of 8.8%, the growth could be even more exponential as electric vehicle, battery and semi-conductor plants need to fill new jobs.

With the support of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Ida Byrd-Hill, CEO of Automation Workz is leading the West MI African American Tech Readiness Feasibility Study to answer this question: Do West Michigan African Americans desire inclusion within corporate tech transformations, tech training and/or tech careers?

If your company is not hiring African Americans for these tech jobs, assign an executive to participate within the West MI African American Tech Readiness Feasibility Study for the next 10 months. This Feasibility Study will complete five surveys to determine what the disconnect is in training, hiring and retention. This Feasibility Study is scheduled to launch at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 24 at New Level Sports Ministries, located at 400 W. Michigan Ave. in Battle Creek.

As of May 1, these executives have committed to the West Michigan African American Tech Readiness Feasibility Study:

West Michigan African American Tech Readiness Collaborative
Alex Andrews, TalentFirst	Joshua Hilgart, Kalamazoo Defender
Alisha Davis, Grand Valley State University	Kara Beer, Battle Creek Chamber of Commerce
Alvin Hills, Midwest Tech Project	Kara Van Dam, Grand Valley State University
Brian DeRoo, Bronson Healthcare	Kellie Hoffman, Northern Initiatives
Pastor Chris McCoy, New Level Sports Ministries	Dr. Michael Horrigan, Upjohn Institute
Dr. Dennis Baskins, Kellogg Community College	Michael McCullough, Calhoun County Broadband Taskforce
Dr. Dennis Bona, EPIC	Pastor Monique French, Washington Heights United Methodist Church
Erick Stewart, LAGNIAPPE Community	Dr. Nakia S. Baylis, Village Network of Battle Creek
Heather Ignash, Battle Creek Unlimited	Dr. Preston Hicks, Goodwill Industries
Heidi Groulx, Denso	Rob Llanes, The Right Place
Jakki Bungart-Bibbs, Michigan Works Southwest	Dr. Sharon Vriend-Robinette, Corewell Health
Joseph Matthews, Gentex	Bishop Tino Smith, Kingdom Builders

Will you join them?

To find out how, visit https://autoworkz.org/corporate/corporate-services/

BIO
Ida Byrd-Hill is the CEO of Automation Workz, which has been ranked in the Top 10 Cybersecurity Bootcamps in the US training front-liners in cybersecurity, data analytics, network engineering, and software development.

Ida Byrd-Hill is a graduate of the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor with a BA, Economics and Jack Welch Management Institute at Strayer University with an MBA. Ida has business experience in HR, Executive Search, Finance, Technology and Wealth Management. She is plowing her expertise into the workforce pipeline, having educated 15,546 persons, in STEM.

Ida is the author of 8 books, including Invisible Talent Market-Solving the Talent Shortage Without Outsourcing and Visas. She serves as a Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce Director and is a member of AIAG, ATD, CEO Talent Council, Electric Vehicle Jobs Academy, German American Business Council, NABJ, NMSDC, Society of Automotive Analysts and SHRM. Contact: (313) 483-2126; [email protected]; www.autoworkz.org

Contact: Ida Byrd-Hill
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 313-483-2126

SOURCE Automation Workz