Citi Foundation invests $25M to help youth navigate AI job displacement

Citi Foundation is investing $25 million to address youth unemployment challenges exacerbated by AI and economic uncertainty. The banking group’s philanthropic arm is distributing $500,000 grants to 50 organizations worldwide that provide digital literacy, technical training, and career guidance for low-income youth, targeting a generation facing the highest unemployment rates in over a decade.

What you should know: The initiative responds to alarming employment trends affecting young professionals in a rapidly evolving job market.

• The U.S. unemployment rate for 22- to 27-year-old degree holders has reached its highest level in a dozen years outside of the pandemic.
• Companies are reluctant to hire amid economic uncertainty, particularly impacting IT and other college-graduate professions.
• Entry-level roles face elimination as artificial intelligence automates previously human-performed tasks.

The big picture: Skills gaps have emerged as the primary barrier to business transformation, with employers reporting that early career applicants lack necessary technical and soft skills.

• A World Economic Forum survey of over 1,000 companies identified skills gaps as the biggest obstacle to business transformation over the next five years.
• Two-thirds of respondents plan to hire people with specific AI skills, while 40% anticipate eliminating jobs that AI can complete.
• Companies now prioritize AI comfortability and general competency over traditional college degrees and specialized skillsets.

Why this matters: The disruption threatens to create lasting economic consequences by blocking young people from career advancement opportunities.

• “But if there’s no bottom rung on the ladder, it’s really hard to leap up, right?” said Caitlyn Brazill, president of Per Scholas, a grantee organization.
• Failing to develop new career pathways could hurt long-term economic growth by preventing access to high-growth careers.
• The scale of AI-driven labor market disruption may be “too big for philanthropy” alone, according to Martha Ross, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

How it works: Grantee organizations are adapting their programs to balance AI integration with uniquely human skills development.

• Some programs teach participants how to prompt AI chatbots for automated work tasks.
• Equal emphasis is placed on developing soft skills like teamwork, empathy, judgment, and communication that AI cannot replicate.
• Training focuses on creating versatile professionals who can function beyond isolated technical roles.

Who’s involved: Recipients include established workforce development nonprofits with proven track records in underserved communities.

• NPower, a national nonprofit that makes digital careers more accessible, will use its grant to at least double spaces in programs for “green students” with no tech background or college degrees.
• Per Scholas, a tuition-free technology training nonprofit, plans to develop careers for approximately 600 young adults across Los Angeles, New York, Orlando, Chicago, and greater Washington, D.C.
• Both organizations emphasize hands-on training that prepares participants for jobs previously requiring much more experience.

What they’re saying: Leaders emphasize the need for comprehensive skill development in an AI-integrated workplace.

• “What we want to do is make sure young people are as prepared as possible to find employment in a world that’s moving really quickly,” said Ed Skyler, Citi Head of Enterprise Services and Public Affairs.
• “It is more now about being able to be more than just an isolated, siloed technical person,” explained Robert Vaughn, NPower’s Chief Innovation Officer. “You have to actually be a customer service person.”
• “We did not handle previous displacements due to automation very well,” warned Martha Ross. “We left a lot of people behind. And we now have to decide if we’re going to replicate that or not.”