Displaced coal workers and union electricians will soon be retrained to help build AI data centers and other technological infrastructure through an initiative led by Pitt researchers.
Led by Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering and Robert Morris University, a new three-year project dubbed the Pittsburgh Laser Engine will aim to prepare displaced coal workers and electricians for advanced manufacturing jobs in the age of AI. Funded by a $1.62 million grant from Appalachian Regional Commission and targeting rural communities in the counties of Allegheny, Fayette, Greene, Washington and Westmoreland, Pitt will work closely with RMU and its industry partners to develop a hands-on vocational training program for the workers.
Kevin Chen, the Paul E. Lego Professor and vice chair for research in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, said his research team conducted community outreach and discovered a “common desire” to revitalize manufacturing in the greater Pittsburgh region.
“We saw a lot of unemployed people who desired to work really hard to support their families and couldn’t find the appropriate opportunity,” Chen said. “That [has] motivated us to develop this workforce development program.”
The program will equip coal workers with advanced laser processing skills and train union electricians in fiber-optic sensing for AI data centers and critical infrastructure. Fiber-optic sensing is a technology that equips glass strands, or fiber, with physical sensors that can detect issues like overheating, signal loss or high pressure.
According to Chen, these skills are required for more in-demand, high-paying manufacturing roles, such as a laser technician, which is someone who specializes in the operation and maintenance of laser equipment.
“They already have a certain skillset, so we basically give them the advanced laser tool to enable them to make a career transition,” Chen said. “For example, laser surface processing that improves the surface quality of metal coating.”
According to the Swanson School’s announcement of the grant, participants in the project will learn to use tools like high-power fiber and pulsed lasers, and apply laser welding, surface treatment and precision drilling.
As Pittsburgh continues to develop AI infrastructure, which includes the hardware, software and network components AI systems rely on, there is a new need for workers who are skilled in technologically-advanced manufacturing to help build and maintain that infrastructure, Chen said.
Lisa Adams, deputy executive director of United Mine Workers of America Career Centers, a nonprofit workforce development organization in Greene County that is a partner in the project, said dislocated coal workers and displaced energy workers need to learn new skills as traditional practices in their fields become outdated.
“While traditional mechanical skills remain a strong baseline, legacy mining equipment and traditional industrial maintenance skills are becoming outdated as industries transition toward automated systems,” Adams said. “Underground skills must be retooled for above ground jobs.”
Adams said equipping these workers to transition their skills into next-generation industrial manufacturing is key to revitalizing the economies of local rural communities.
“This program equips workers in Appalachia with specialized, highly technical competencies in laser applications that set them apart in the regional labor market,” Adams said. “By retaining top technical talent locally and establishing a modern skilled workforce, the project helps attract high-tech employers to the region, driving long-term economic resilience across former coal communities.”
According to Chen, rural communities have become economically depressed due to the national decline in manufacturing jobs, but there is strong potential for the greater Pittsburgh region to become a hub for technologically-advanced manufacturing.
“Pittsburgh has a lot of smaller companies that are less well-known but very critical,” Chen said. “There’s a Pittsburgh company making piping structures for national shipbuilders, something that is much less known for this region but provides an important service to the country.”
Chen said RMU’s industrial engineering program offers resources that aren’t always available at Pitt, making them ideal partners.
“[RMU has] the hands-on training of laser photonics. We don’t,” Chen said. “They have their own way to engage their community and the workforce, the population that actually needs the workforce development.”
Chen said this partnership allows the ECE department to expand its services to a greater population beyond college students.
“We can provide an important service to promote career training and lifelong learning for the professional tradesman to gain these skills, and at the same time make university education more sustainable,” Chen said.
On the other hand, Chen said, the initiative will benefit university students who may want to transition to more hands-on work to avoid being displaced by AI.
“With the advance of AI, a lot of college jobs, which are desk jobs, are going away,” Chen said. “On the other hand, electricians, because they have hands-on jobs, have more opportunity because AI infrastructure [and] electric infrastructure [are] built out.”