Energizing the Future Mobility Workforce in Michigan

Recent momentum in the electric vehicle and battery sectors—driven largely by federal investments through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021—has led to significant investments in new production and assembly facilities in Michigan. As the birthplace of the automotive industry, Michigan now faces an opportunity to lead the development of the “future mobility” industry, a term inclusive of all elements of the electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicle supply chain and associated infrastructure. To power the transition, companies, economic development organizations, educational institutions, and state and local government must be prepared to support the current and future workforce to develop the skills necessary to lead the industry and to provide support for workers to access new opportunities. This brief provides insights and recommendations from a roundtable hosted in Detroit, Michigan, in February 2024 that explored the shifting needs of the future mobility industry in the state and generated collaborative solutions to support a developing workforce.

Recommendations

• The Department of Transportation’s Center for Transportation Workforce Development should create a national EV workforce moonshot with clear roles for each level of government. This includes fewer restrictions on federal investments, as well as technical support, state convening, and supporting programs, with an eye toward leveraging local knowledge to drive more effective implementation. As an intermediate step, the federal government should invest in capacity building for states to support local governments applying for federal funding related to workforce development programs.
• Michigan should help support applications for federal funding applications, similar to the EPA’s Technical Assistance Hubs. These programs provide capacity for frontline communities to navigate and access the historic level of resources provided by the Inflation Reduction Act. Michigan should have a program that also provides technical assistance to communities looking to access resources for workforce development programs.
• The state should create an “anchor” organization that coordinates and is supported by employers to create an inclusive workforce. This “anchor” organization should serve as a central and neutral convenor to bring all stakeholders together, create a forum for sharing and understanding all stakeholders’ unique needs, and create an organized path forward for the EV workforce. It should engage companies throughout the supply chain, education providers, workforce development agencies, economic development organizations, labor, and state government.
• The state should lead a marketing campaign for jobs and careers in the future mobility industry to make these careers attractive to prospective workers. This marketing campaign should target Michiganders broadly, with specific focus on secondary educators including: guidance counselors, career advisors in vocational/technical schools, and teachers—particularly of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) classes. Outreach and marketing materials should demonstrate the possibilities of a career in the future mobility industry, as well as highlighting the kinds of skills that are needed to thrive.
• The state should invest in placemaking to build a community of support for a person’s full day, including wrap-around services like housing, public transit or alternative modes of transportation, and childcare. Building on the baseline data in the 2023 Growing Michigan Together Council Report, state agencies should identify neighborhoods with lower labor force participation and their barriers to working. Once these are identified, the state should create and fund employment hubs to provide the necessary support to pursue employment opportunities.
• The state should provide funding and technical assistance to communities, whether municipal governments or local economic/workforce development organizations, to identify barriers to enter the workforce, make a plan to address these barriers, and seek resources for these solutions.
• The city of Detroit, with funding and policy support from the state, should invest in its transportation infrastructure to attract and retain residents. In addition to investing in public transportation infrastructure to better connect the city, and to connect neighborhoods where people live and work, the city should invest in electric mobility solutions like public EV charging infrastructure. The city government should work collaboratively with the automotive industry to highlight future mobility industry opportunities in the city and attract investment.

Conclusion

Throughout the February 2024 convening, participants representing key companies, economic development organizations, NGOs, and communities demonstrated that Michigan has the potential to lead the development of the future mobility industry, and showed excitement around developing the next steps necessary to succeed. Building on the state’s existing investments in EV workforce development, additional policy and programmatic initiatives can augment federal and private sector resources to support the recruitment, training, retention, and prosperity of workers across the future mobility industry in Michigan.

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