Building a Workforce Ready for Oklahoma’s Future

Many of Oklahoma’s workforce and economic incentive programs were created decades ago and no longer align with the needs of modern employers. As automation and artificial intelligence (AI) reshape industries—and as data centers and energy projects expand—businesses need workers with advanced, technical skills.
 

Evidence shows Oklahoma needs to update its workforce development programs:
 

• At the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber’s State of the Region event, leaders noted that Central Oklahoma lags peer regions in job growth, underscoring the need for stronger talent pipelines, infrastructure investment, and workforce retention strategies.

• Heartland Forward polling highlights a widening skills gap across heartland states, including Oklahoma. While 71% of respondents say employers should provide AI training, fewer than 1% feel proficient using AI tools. Only 10% of students report that their teachers are preparing them for AI-driven careers.
   

Without targeted action, these gaps will continue to limit economic growth and opportunity.

Oklahoma is investing in workforce development by funding AI innovation across its higher education system. Through the State Regents’ Innovations with AI Program, state leaders allocated $3.4 million in grants to seven public colleges and universities to serve as “seed money” for AI-driven projects. The initiative is designed to align academic programs with emerging workforce needs, ensuring students graduate with skills relevant to AI-enabled workplaces. State higher education officials have framed the investment as a long-term strategy to prepare students for “new workplace frontiers” while strengthening the capacity of campuses to integrate advanced technology into teaching, research, and operations.
 

The funded projects focus on practical, workforce-oriented applications of AI, including tools to improve online instruction, AI workstations for student use, real-time labor market analytics embedded in coursework, and training in secure AI models for clinical and professional settings. Institutions are also using AI to streamline administrative tasks and improve student guidance, allowing faculty and staff to focus more on learning outcomes. Collectively, these efforts position Oklahoma’s colleges and universities as engines of AI literacy and applied skills, helping employers access a workforce that is better prepared, more efficient, and fluent in technologies increasingly shaping the state’s economy.
 

Google is investing an additional $9 billion in Oklahoma within the next two years in cloud and AI infrastructure. This investment supports the development of a new data center campus in Stillwater and the expansion of an existing facility in Pryor, as well as expanded education and workforce development programs.
 

As part of a broader $1 billion commitment to American education and competitiveness, the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University are part of the first cohort of the Google AI for Education Accelerator that launched last week, giving the universities no-cost access to Google Career Certificates and AI training courses. The company is also providing funding to support an innovative program with the electrical training ALLIANCE to increase the electrical workforce pipeline in Oklahoma by 135%, which is said to help develop the labor force needed to build new energy infrastructure.
 

These investments are designed to prepare Oklahoma’s students with critical AI and job-ready skills, and create a talent pipeline of workers to power Oklahoma’s future, and America’s AI leadership.

Other states have adopted coordinated approaches that Oklahoma can learn from:
 

• Florida High Tech Corridor Council brings together universities, research institutions, and businesses to grow high-tech industries through research partnerships, workforce development, entrepreneurship, and regional industry clusters. Programs include research matching grants, classroom connections with industry experts, and support for sectors such as energy, life sciences, semiconductors, and emerging technologies.

• Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) aligns infrastructure investment, tax incentives, workforce training grants, and innovation support to position the state as an “Economy of the Future.”

Build Oklahoma applauds the state for their investments in academia so far. Other modern workforce strategies could focus on:
 

• Updating incentive programs, including the Quality Jobs Program, to better support high-tech industries, startups, and sustained workforce development.

• Expanding employer-led training, apprenticeships, technical certifications, and partnerships with K–12 schools, career tech centers, and higher education institutions.

• Strengthening the startup ecosystem through mentorship, capital access, and support for emerging founders.
   

Together, these actions would improve Oklahoma’s competitiveness while opening pathways into higher-wage careers across urban and rural communities.