Verizon has announced that it will now partner with Generation, a non-profit organization, to invest over $44 million in workforce development. The partnership will increase access to Americans with limited opportunities to a free tech-focused career training program. The aim is to cover 26 cities by the end of 2022 and fits in with the goal of Citizen Verizon, which is to prepare 500,000 individuals for jobs of the future by 2030.

Verizon and Generation’s online reskilling program will provide free resources and access to the various career pathways in the growing technology sectors. Some jobs include junior cloud practitioner, junior web developer, IT help desk technician, and digital marketing analyst. Each program is designed to take 10–12 weeks to complete on average. It will cover workers who are unemployed, underemployed, and losing jobs due to automation or due to the pandemic. The focus is to prioritize Black and Latinx applicants, women, and those who do not have a four-year degree.

This program has been designed primarily to reskill underrepresented workers and equip them to handle new career paths with the same knowledge and expertise as others. At some level, the program seems to indicate a deep connection between reskilling and inclusion.

“Cutting-edge technology will continue to change how we work and how society operates, and we are committed to ensuring that all communities have the opportunity they need to help advance their skills, their education and their chance for economic prosperity,” said Rose Stuckey Kirk, Chief Corporate Social Responsibility Officer at Verizon, of the company’s partnership investment.

“Partnering with Generation enables us to bring their successful career training program into the homes of thousands of Americans who need it most and who it might not traditionally be available to,” she added.

Amazon, PwC, IBM, and AT&T have launched major upskilling programs to retrain their workforces or attract new talent in recent years. And digital upskilling has increased during the pandemic as millions of Americans look for in-demand jobs, Reuters reported. Business leaders, she said, have a responsibility to care for their workers and communities.