Global Mentorship Initiative Launches AI Fluency Certification at Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting

New mentor-guided program bridges equity gap, equipping 2,500 underserved young professionals in 10 countries with AI workforce readiness skills

BELLEVUE, WA, UNITED STATES, September 29, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Global Mentorship Initiative (GMI), a leading workforce readiness nonprofit that has helped more than 20,000 young people launch professional careers around the world, today announced the launch of its new AI Fluency Certification Program at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting. The initiative is designed to ensure that first-generation, low-income, refugee, and historically underrepresented graduates are not left behind as artificial intelligence reshapes the global workforce.

Through its CGI Commitment to Action, GMI will deliver AI workforce readiness certification to 2,500 students across 10 countries by the end of 2028, combining its proven mentorship model with a six-module AI curriculum taught by industry experts. The program will help participants develop practical AI fluency, critical thinking, professional judgment, and workplace application skills increasingly demanded by employers.

"Since our founding, GMI has focused on a simple but powerful truth: talent is universal, but opportunity is not," said Jon Browning, Founder and CEO of Global Mentorship Initiative. "We've seen firsthand how mentorship can transform career outcomes for talented young people who lack access to professional networks, guidance, and workforce opportunities. But as AI reshapes the labor market, we see another gap emerging. Even as we're helping close the workforce readiness divide, a new chasm is opening as many of these same populations remain unprepared for an economy where AI fluency is increasingly expected from day one.”

Workforce disruption driven by AI is accelerating worldwide. Research from Stanford Digital Economy Lab shows employment among 22-to-25-year-olds in AI-exposed occupations declined 16% over the past year, while WGU Labs found only 34% of first-generation students report familiarity with available AI tools, compared with 48% of their continuing-generation peers.

For Bellevue, Washington-based GMI, these trends represent the next frontier of workforce equity.

"The next digital divide will not be about internet access," Browning added. "It will be about AI fluency. The question is no longer whether graduates can access AI tools. The question is whether they can compete in an economy where AI proficiency is assumed. Without intervention, AI will not just change how people work. It will increasingly determine who gets the opportunity to work."

To that end, GMI is launching its AI Fluency Certification program. This initiative sits at the intersection of corporate talent needs, educational institutions preparing students for the future, and individuals seeking meaningful economic opportunity. This new certification builds on GMI's established track record of delivering mentorship-driven workforce readiness programs at global scale. The program is designed to integrate directly into educational institutions and workforce development programs, providing a flexible and rapidly adaptable layer of career preparation that evolves alongside employer expectations.

Initially launching through pilot cohorts augmenting GMI's Career Readiness Program, the initiative will scale to reach and certify 2,500 learners across Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Middle East by December 2028. GMI's stated goal is for 90% of its AI Fluency Certification program participants to be employed within 12 months of completion.

To successfully scale the mission, GMI has secured partnerships with youth organizations, workforce development programs, and corporations, including Expedia Group and Baker Hughes Foundation.

Aditi Mohapatra, Vice President of Global Social Impact & Sustainability at Expedia Group, concurs.

“At Expedia Group, we recognize that, as AI reshapes how we work, the ability to use it effectively is now an essential skill,” Mohapatra said. “Supporting GMI’s AI Fluency program allows us to invest in the communities where we live and work, while giving our employees a meaningful opportunity to help prepare the next generation with the skills they need to succeed.”

The program reflects GMI's broader vision that workforce readiness must evolve alongside technological change.

"AI training alone is not enough," said Browning. "Employers need people who can work effectively alongside AI, exercise sound judgment, communicate clearly, solve problems, and adapt as technology evolves. That is why we combine AI Fluency Certification with mentorship, confidence-building, and real-world workforce preparation. We are not preparing AI users. We are preparing AI-enabled professionals.

“AI readiness cannot become a privilege reserved for those with existing advantages,” he added. “To ensure AI expands opportunity rather than deepens inequality, we must make workforce-ready AI skills accessible to everyone."

Christine Loredo
Global Mentorship Initiative
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