Google, Ford To Build Research, Job Training Hub In Detroit

Google is joining Ford Motor in an ambitious urban renewal initiative to create a transportation research hub in Detroit and build the skilled workforce needed to bring advanced mobility ideas to life, Axios reported.

Photo Insert: The Ford Glass House

This initiative matters as companies are struggling to fill tech jobs with qualified applicants, and many are deciding it's easier to hire unskilled workers and provide them with the necessary digital training. These approaches are also good for underrepresented communities.

Google is joining Ford as a founding member of Michigan Central, a 30-acre, mobility-focused innovation district housed in the city's iconic abandoned train station and the surrounding neighborhood.

Michigan Central will serve as a focal point for the development of electric and autonomous vehicles, along with new forms of micro-mobility.

It will feature the nation's first stretch of road to wirelessly charge electric vehicles while they're in motion.

Google will focus on training and educating Detroiters for the types of jobs required by the future transportation ecosystem. The company will open a Code Next Lab at Michigan Central to teach computer science to Detroit high schoolers. And it will partner with local nonprofits to offer basic tech skills through its three- to six-month Google Career Certificates program.

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