Workforce and People

The U.S. Department of Energy on Tuesday announced it expects to award electric vehicle startup Rivian a nearly $6 billion loan to start construction of its long-promised factory in Georgia.

A new public community college in Illinois has a new facility with advanced training stations for welding, machining and electronics, plus a robotics lab, a computer lab and classrooms for lectures and presentations.

Plus, the industry reacts to a new Federal Communications Commission chairperson, a North Carolina partnership with 211 aims to connect people to information in an emergency, and more.

Honolulu's new CIO and director of the Department of Information Technology will officially step in, in January. However, the transition is expected to get underway next month, affording an interval of collaboration.

New policy from the Michigan Senate Information Services blocks senators, employees and interns from using Senate-issued devices to access some artificial intelligence tools. This includes ChatGPT.

A company helping the Traverse City local government offices deal with a recent cyber attack will help the city split off its computer network from one it shares with Grand Traverse County.

Easterly was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate to lead the agency. The precise timing of her departure is unclear, but is expected to take place in advance of the incoming President-elect Donald J. Trump administration.

Being designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity, the University at Albany offers a scholarship for cybersecurity students willing to work for the Department of Defense after graduation.

President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Brendan Carr, the senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission, as the commission’s next chair, he said in a statement.

In addition to upskilling and transforming their workforce, IT leaders in government are investing in enterprise technology that can scale for the future.

Through an initiative called the Michigan Electric Vehicle Jobs Academy, state leaders reviewed 400 courses at community colleges across Michigan to ensure they meet employer needs for a workforce that can build EVs.

The city and county of Denver has chosen to hire from within for the role, which was created this summer. Sean Greer, Denver's IT director of service delivery, was selected and started work this week.

Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka named his fourth public safety director in eight years, choosing a longtime city police officer and chief to replace an outsider who resigned last week two years after being hired.

Assistant CISO Seema Patel is taking over that top tech job. Godsey accepted the appointment in 2019 and has won praise for his efforts to boost cybersecurity for the fourth-largest county in the U.S.

Co-founder Mike Bell will have a seat on the board of the Canada-based firm, which sells performance management software to public agencies. Ross’ leadership experience includes jobs at Euna and eCivis.

The Gates Foundation’s Allan Golston outlines a vision for equitable opportunities and the future of the American dream. As the transformative power of generative AI becomes clear, equitable access to education and jobs remains crucial.

With a division dedicated to workforce education and continuing education, a public community college in Texas can tailor programs to the specific needs of local businesses, and adjust formats to the needs of students.

The departed CIO is a career technologist who has led IT at county and city levels. His replacement has more than 22 years’ experience with Miami, most recently in managing Oracle enterprise resource planning work.