The AI Upskilling Lab: Inaugural Cohort
District of Columbia Public Library
Innovation Synopsis
The AI Upskilling Cohort tests a new kind of workforce development program for DCPL, centering collaborative learning and leadership, hands-on projects, and peer support. The program was designed in response to two major workforce disruptions happening in the DC area: mass federal layoffs and instability in adjacent sectors and uncertainty about the future of work as AI permeates into the majority of workplaces. To address them, we partnered with a local strategy firm, Levy, run by leaders in the DC tech community, to connect participants with AI mentors from the local tech sector who serve as volunteers helping participants explore real-world applications of AI as they work toward group capstone projects.
Challenge/Opportunity
The AI Upskilling Cohort seeks to address three challenges:
1. The sudden need for workforce support for mid-career knowledge workers from the federal sector in the local area, where many of our preexisting workforce development programs are not prepared to serve this audience.
2. The current and expanding need for AI upskilling across skill levels, industries, and employment status, and
3. The need for new, community-driven models of engagement around digital literacy—ones that help residents make sense of emerging technologies, rebuild confidence in public institutions, and foster shared learning in an era of rapid technological and social change.
Key Elements of Innovation
The AI Upskilling Cohort is a 12-week civic learning pilot led by DCPL with local design firm Levy. It equips mid-career professionals with practical AI skills, peer networks, and renewed confidence in a shifting workforce.
Weekly in-person sessions at DCPL combine workshops, mentoring, coworking, and small-group pods that prototype real-world AI projects. Co-facilitated by DCPL staff, Levy, volunteer AI mentors, and program participants assuming peer-leadership, the program blends design thinking, peer learning, and public showcase events.
Because DCPL hosts the DC Tech Meetup, DC’s largest monthly tech community gathering, we were able to partner with Levy, recruit AI mentors and engage other relevant organizations including Well Fed (a non-profit by and for former feds) and DC Startup and Tech Week.
This effort re-imagines the library as a civic R&D lab for workforce resilience-bridging digital literacy, career transition, and community trust-building in the age of AI.
Achieved Outcomes
-Engaged 50 mid-career professionals in hands-on AI learning and project design; formed 6 project pods to develop AI prototypes for everyday problems/civic challenges
-85% of participants reported using what they learned in their job search; 89% reported increased confidence in exploring new projects & building skills; 73% reported making 5 or more useful connections to grow professional networks
-Engaged 35 volunteer AI mentors to provide feedback & lead workshops on prompt engineering, rapid prototyping tools & storytelling. Connected with community partners including Levy, Well Fed, Feds Forward, Civic Tech DC, and the AI Collective
-Participant feedback highlights the “collaborative, hands-on approach” and emphasis on building community during career transitions as pivotal for “making the path to excellence feeling achievable”
-Proof of concept for cohort model of integrating digital literacy, civic learning & tech experimentation into public programming
-Local media coverage
