How Community Colleges Are Building AI Workforce Pathways in 2026

AGI Schools Out Saturdays | Season 2, Episode 10Amanda Wilkerson | Ivy Tech Community College

SPOTIFY / APPLE PODCASTS DESCRIPTIONWhat does AI workforce training look like when you start by asking employers what they actually need? Amanda Wilkerson, Assistant Faculty Lead at Ivy Tech Community College, is finding out. In this episode of AGI Schools Out Saturdays, she and Jason Padgett dig into the applied AI gap: the growing population of workers who need practical AI skills but don't have a computer science background and aren't sure where to start.Key topics covered:Applied AI curriculum for non-CS students: who it's for and why it mattersHow Ivy Tech brought 50 industry leaders together to define AI workforce skillsBuilding education pathways backward from employer demand, not academic traditionIndiana vs. Ohio on AI adoption in education: where the gaps areFlexible learning models (asynchronous, hybrid, competency-based) designed for working adultsIvy Tech's role in the 2025-2026 National Applied AI Consortium Mentorship CohortClosing workforce gaps for underserved communities through accessible AI educationIf you work in workforce development, community college education, or HR and you're trying to figure out what AI-ready actually means in practice, this one's for you.About Amanda Wilkerson: Assistant Faculty Lead, School of Information Technology, and Chair of the Statewide Informatics Curriculum Committee at Ivy Tech Community College. Faculty representative for Ivy Tech's participation in the National Applied AI Consortium (NAAIC) 2025-2026 Mentorship Cohort.LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/awilkerson/Ivy Tech: https://www.ivytech.edu/Work with Jason → [email protected] → https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7399599285849346048AI Launchpad → https://www.skool.com/signup?ref=025b0ccdd6374664a2aab5df527ab2f5AGI Podcast shows:School's Out Saturdays: AI in education, K-12 through universityWeekly Blitz: AI news every Monday, 30-45 minutesData Bytes: Data literacy for business ownersThe Vibe: Deep conversations, no time limitAll platforms: https://linktr.ee/AGIPodcastFollow: Facebook + LinkedIn @AGIPodcast | Instagram @AGISchoolsout | X @NoCodeCAIOTools Jason recommends:MindStudio → https://get.mindstudio.ai/q7n7u5cttkdqRiverside.fm → https://riverside.sjv.io/e1xyBrWispr Flow → https://ref.wisprflow.ai/jason-padgett