MICHauto has received $1.2 million in funding from the Michigan Office of Future Mobility and Electrification (OFME) to continue supporting initiatives critical to expanding Michigan’s high-tech workforce. This round of funding comes after MICHauto received a $2 million grant from the State to initiate this critical work in December 2022 and reinforces the importance of these efforts to the state’s economy.

“OFME is proud to continue supporting the efforts of MICHauto to foster the next generation of high-tech talent in Michigan,” said Justine Johnson, Chief Mobility Officer of OFME. “As we work to attract and retain high-tech talent in the state, these initiatives from MICHauto will help ensure Michigan continues to be a leader in this space.”

This new investment will be focused on three key areas supporting MICHauto’s High-Tech Talent Strategy:

• You Drive the Future
  • Increase the reach of this digital platform created in 2023 that increases the visibility of and exposure to high-tech careers in Michigan to Gen Z.
• Square One Robotics
  • Support the launch of a web portal that will increase operational capacity and promote pathways for continuing education and careers for participants in the Michigan-born and operated robotics provider.
• Lockwood STEM Center Pilot
  • Promote the development of regional in-school STEM curriculum and hands-on labs in Saginaw County to provide career and educational pathways for students in mid-Michigan.

Continued investment in these initiatives is critical, as Michigan’s future economic growth depends on its ability to develop, retain, and attract high-tech talent across all industries. Advancement in these areas will not only secure the state’s collective industrial future but will also allow Michigan to maintain the position it has held as the cradle of innovation for more than a century.

The initial work funded by the Office of Future Mobility and Electrification, begun in 2022, resulted in the successful development of several studies and pilot projects aimed at growing Michigan’s future workforce, including:

• You Drive the Future
  • Marketing campaign and digital platform inspiring future jobseekers to discover their potential and purpose in the ever-evolving automotive and mobility industry in Michigan. The campaign highlights high-tech opportunities and young professionals already making their mark in these fulfilling and exciting careers. This new grant will support this work’s expansion.
• Michigan’s Great Inflection
  • Study led by leading urbanist Richard Florida offering a comparative analysis of Michigan’s assets in business and talent attraction. The findings include recommendations on what Michigan must do to be more competitive, including the proposed creation of the Michigan Economic Transformation Alliance.
• High-Tech Talent Initiative Perception Study
  • Study sharing key insights on how the automotive and mobility industry is perceived as a career option among students and young professionals. It explores how these views have changed – and continue to evolve – as well as the challenges the industry must overcome to ensure the continued retention and attraction of high-tech talent.
• Driving Diversity: Unlocking the Power of Diverse Workforces for the Future of the Transportation Industry
  • Report from the Center for Automotive Diversity, Inclusion and Advancement outlining key baseline data, benchmarks for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and recommendations for how to improve the DEI measures across the industry.
• Digital Lakes Micro-Internship
  • Pilot program that introduced freshman and sophomore college students to a variety of companies and their work, innovative projects, and company culture.
• Michigan Mobility Talent Consortium “Bring Your Engineer to School Day” Program
  • Program where engineers and other mobility industry professionals gave local students a glimpse into what it really means to be an engineer by visiting a classroom, facilitating an interactive activity, and sharing real-life examples.
• Partnerships with Hello West Michigan and Let’s Detroit
  • Program expansions and pilots to increase the effectiveness and reach of these organizations to fulfill their missions of attracting new talent to Michigan.