High school seniors in Maryland are getting daily AI training 

Writing essays and taking math tests are just one part of the day for five high schoolers in Howard County, Maryland. The rest of the time, they’re learning about AI — and how to deploy it in meaningful ways.  

Tyese Johnson of Oakland Mills High School is one of the students in the program, launched in August by the nonprofit Health Tech Alley in partnership with the Apprenticeship Maryland Program and the local school district. She applied to join because she knows AI can also be used in negative contexts, and she wants to avoid being susceptible. 

“Being able to protect yourself from it, because you can understand what it does and what it’s there for,” Johnson said, “is very beneficial.”

Along with four other seniors across four different high schools, he spends about half his academic day in the program. Monday through Thursday they work at the Maryland Innovation Center in Columbia, and Friday is remote. 

Esther Olaleye, a participant from Reservoir High School, felt it was important to learn how to use the tech properly, because she’s seen it used inefficiently. And Prithika Mohanraj of Mount Hebron joined the program because she believes the tech will only grow and advance more, quickly. 

“I know AI is very demanding, and it’s going to increase demand,” Mohanraj  told Technical.ly. “So I applied to give myself a solid foundation of it.” 

As they complete training focused on AI, machine learning and data science, each student is conducting their own yearlong research project. They’re also getting certifications for applying the technology in different contexts, like business development or customer acquisition.

“Helping kids to access this technology and use it in a way that is going to be meaningful is helpful for both the companies themselves,” said Nathan Garcia, the program manager at Health Tech Alley. “But then also, just society at large.” 

The teens are learning more than just computer science. They’re also getting experience working with nonprofits like Ryan’s Place Foundation in Gaithersburg and startups and small businesses all over the state including in Frederick County and Baltimore city. 

“Having been educated through the pandemic, some of the soft skills weren’t as readily available as they were for previous generations,” Garcia explained. 

Public-private partnerships to support tech apprenticeships  

The program has received a lot of public sector backing, including from the Maryland State Department of Education, Maryland Department of Labor and the Howard County Economic Development Authority. 

Health Tech Alley declined to provide specifics about how much funding is going into this program. 

“The community sees the value of investing in the workforce of the future and investing in technology skill sets,” said Greg Miller, the executive director at Health Tech Alley and cofounder of the nonprofit Maryland Apprenticeship Connector. 

The goal after this academic year is to expand it to more schools in Howard County, and eventually throughout the state, per Miller. 

This isn’t the only apprenticeship program centered around tech that’s launched in recent months. In DC, the city is granting funds to startups that hire apprentices. The district also partnered with the Department of Employment Services to create a centralized platform for residents to find training opportunities and apprenticeships. 

In the Baltimore region, the demand for tech talent continues to grow. For example, in late October, about 6,000 tech jobs were posted in the region. In 2023 at that same time, there were about 4,800 posted, per Technical.ly’s Tech Economy Dashboard powered by Lightcast. 

Plus, cybersecurity jobs are not being filled. Only 33% of the demand is being met in Maryland and DC, per a study from earlier this year by state-of-Maryland founded TEDCO. 

Part of this need is the region’s proximity to the federal government, Miller explained. That fact, plus the region’s designation as a Tech Hub with the Economic Development Administration, makes bridging the tech talent gap even more crucial, he said. Health Tech Alley is a partner in the recent drive for federal funding for the region, per Miller.  

Outside of the AI interest, Juan Guzman of Oakland Mills High School is keen on the alternative career pathway. He’s also been interested in the training itself, he said, like in the program SQL. He had some background knowledge in it before, but what’s been helpful is applying it in the real contexts, he said. 

“Maybe college isn’t for everyone, so it’d be nice if you could have different options,” Guzman said. 

This is how the program’s creators envisioned the apprenticeship, per program manager Garcia.

“We’re passionate about helping them to know that there are ways that you can get a high paying job,” Garcia said. “That will help not only yourself and your career job security, but then help the economy at large.”