The AI Jobs Institute, a new AI workforce training hub run by the nonprofit Pursuit in Long Island City, Queens, aims to train up to 40,000 New Yorkers for AI-related careers by 2032. Announced October 22, 2026, the project carries $10 million in public investment, with construction starting this winter and full occupancy expected in mid-2027.
Key Takeaways
- Empire State Development is contributing $3.06 million, split between $1.5 million from its Office of Strategic Workforce Development and $1.56 million from the Regional Economic Development Council initiative.
- The building will also house the New York Global Tech and Innovation Center, a Queens Borough President’s Office initiative aiming to help launch more than a dozen high-growth startups within five years.
- Former U.S. Secretary of Education Dr. Miguel Cardona chairs the institute’s National Advisory Council.
- Ascendium Education Group has committed a $4 million, three-year grant to build AI career pathways through the institute.
- Pursuit separately serves as statewide lead for AI Prep for Jobs, a state initiative to train 420 low-income New Yorkers.
- Enrollment dates, program length and participant costs for the AI Jobs Institute have not been announced.
AI Workforce Training Moves Into a Queens Hub Built Around Employers
The AI Jobs Institute is not being pitched as a classroom building. Pursuit, the Long Island City nonprofit that will design and operate it, describes four areas of work: training New Yorkers through AI-enabled career pathways, incubating pilots and tools with small businesses and nonprofits, producing data and recommendations for state and federal workforce policy, and convening employers, job seekers and industry partners under one roof.
That structure matters because AI workforce training has a timing problem. Employers are hiring for skills that barely existed a few years ago, and programs that take years to design tend to graduate people into roles that have already shifted. The state’s announcement frames the AI Jobs Institute as an attempt to prepare New Yorkers for jobs as they emerge rather than after the fact. Whether that promise holds will depend on how closely the curriculum tracks employer demand once the doors open.
Pursuit CEO Nick Simmons put the ambition plainly in the announcement: “New York has an opportunity to set the national standard for how AI creates opportunity.”
Entry-Level Tech Hiring Declines Raise the Stakes for AI Workforce Training
The AI Jobs Institute lands in a difficult market for people trying to break into technology. A 49 percent drop in entry-level tech job postings across New York City between 2022 and 2025 has narrowed the traditional first rung of the ladder, the junior roles where new workers once learned on the job.
That context gives the institute a sharper purpose than a general skills program. If fewer companies are hiring beginners to train internally, outside programs that pair instruction with direct employer connections become one of the few remaining on-ramps. New York State is also preparing a policy response. The FutureWorks Commission, which is studying AI’s effect on jobs, is scheduled to deliver its recommendations on training, job quality and support for workers by the end of December.
Pursuit Brings a Track Record With Low-Income New Yorkers
Pursuit has trained adults from low-income communities since 2012 and operates as both a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and a Public Benefit Corporation. According to the organization, its participants are 70 percent Black or Latine, 50 percent receiving public assistance, 60 percent without four-year degrees and 40 percent immigrants. Pursuit reports more than $1 billion in lifetime wage gains for program participants.
A Model Aimed at Workers Without Four-Year Degrees
For New Yorkers searching for how to get a job in AI without a degree, the Pursuit model is the relevant detail. Most of its participants enter without a bachelor’s degree, and the program is built around long-term employer partnerships and sustained support after training rather than credentials alone. The AI Jobs Institute is designed to apply that approach at a far larger scale, and the jump from Pursuit’s current cohorts to 40,000 trainees by 2032 is the number that will determine whether the model travels.
Global Tech and Innovation Center Adds a Startup Track in Long Island City
The AI Jobs Institute will share its building with the New York Global Tech and Innovation Center, an initiative of the Queens Borough President’s Office. The center is meant to connect underrepresented entrepreneurs with capital, corporate partnerships and global networks, drawing on Queens’ standing as one of the country’s most diverse communities. Its stated goal is to help launch more than a dozen high-growth startups over the next five years.
Pairing a jobs program with a startup center under one roof gives Long Island City two routes into the AI economy: one for workers seeking employment and one for founders building companies.
Funding, Advisory Council and Timeline for the AI Jobs Institute
The AI Jobs Institute is backed by $10 million in total public investment, including $3.06 million from Empire State Development. Ascendium Education Group has added a $4 million, three-year grant, and the effort is supported by a wider coalition of philanthropic, industry and civic partners, including the New York Jobs CEO Council and the Partnership Fund for New York City.
Dr. Miguel Cardona chairs the institute’s National Advisory Council. Its founding members include CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez and Tech:NYC CEO Julie Samuels, alongside leaders from workforce, education and finance organizations.
Construction on the AI Jobs Institute begins this winter, with full occupancy expected in mid-2027.
Enrollment Details for the AI Jobs Institute Have Not Been Released
Several practical questions remain open. The announcement did not include an application calendar, program length, eligibility rules or participant costs. Until Pursuit publishes those details, the 40,000 figure is a target rather than a commitment of seats. The next markers to watch are the FutureWorks Commission’s December recommendations and Pursuit’s first enrollment announcement for the Long Island City site.
FAQs
What is the AI Jobs Institute?
The AI Jobs Institute is a Long Island City workforce hub designed and operated by the nonprofit Pursuit. It aims to train up to 40,000 New Yorkers for AI-related careers by 2032, connect participants with employers and produce research to guide workforce policy.
When will the AI Jobs Institute open?
Construction begins in winter 2026, and full occupancy is expected in mid-2027. A specific opening date has not been announced.
Is the AI Jobs Institute accepting applications?
Not yet. Application dates, eligibility requirements and program costs have not been announced. Pursuit is expected to share enrollment details as the Long Island City site nears completion.
How do you get a job in AI without a degree?
Many entry routes into AI-related work now run through skills-based training programs paired with employer partnerships rather than four-year degrees. Pursuit, which operates the AI Jobs Institute, reports that 60 percent of its participants enter without a four-year degree.
How do you get a job in AI with no experience?
Accelerated training programs that combine instruction with direct employer connections are one common path for career changers. In New York, the state’s AI Prep for Jobs initiative, led by Pursuit, uses accelerated training to help 420 low-income residents move toward AI-related jobs.
