ARISE-MD — Advance Reskilling/Upskilling & Innovation for Skills and Employment — prepares Maryland workers for technical roles by building fluency in the AI and quantum tools their industries actually use.
The program is led by HUBZone Council, Inc. and funded through the Maryland Lighthouse Industries Upskilling and Reskilling Program (grant MLUP0626-6). Rather than teaching generic technology skills, ARISE-MD trains people on the specific tools and workflows of Maryland’s priority Lighthouse Industries — healthcare and life sciences, smart facilities, and clean energy — so that what participants learn maps directly onto employer demand.
At a glance
Targeted investment where employer demand is highest
100 participants
Across seven cohorts, split between two delivery pathways.
Three regions
Western Maryland, Baltimore City, and Prince George’s County.
Three industries
Healthcare and life sciences, smart facilities, and clean energy.
Why it works
Advancing Maryland’s workforce through AI and quantum fluency
The focus
Emerging technology skills applied directly to the subject matter and workstreams of priority Lighthouse Industries.
The strategy
Deep reskilling and upskilling on AI tools and quantum methods — industry-specific tool mastery in place of generic tech education.
The outcome
Validated, tech-fluent talent mapped precisely to employer demand, advancing both training outcomes and job placement.
Who it serves
Two pathways, one shared hiring pipeline
Both pathways feed a shared employer hiring pipeline, and both adapt their pace to a participant’s prior learning.
Pathway 1 — HUBZone residents
- For: unemployed and underemployed HUBZone community residents
- Scale: 36 participants across 3 cohorts
- Duration: 16–39 weeks
Pathway 2 — Displaced federal workers
- For: displaced federal workers
- Scale: 64 participants across 4 cohorts
- Structure: accelerated standalone AI-stacking
- Duration: 12–24 weeks
Pathway 1 tracks
Two technical tracks
Track A — Healthcare & life sciences
- Target roles: data scientists and health data analysts
- Timeline: 21–39 weeks
Track B — Smart facilities & clean energy
- Focus: building energy management (BEM) and clean energy trades
- Target roles: technical trade implementation
- Timeline: 16–32 weeks
How skill is built
From literacy to fluency
Participants progress through three deliberate stages rather than being handed a toolset and left to it.
1
Literacy
Foundational AI awareness and system navigation.
2
Proficiency
Occupation-specific tool application, explicitly mapped to employer-defined workflows.
3
Fluency
Independent, adaptive application of tools within the target occupation.
A parallel quantum literacy track — awareness, applied literacy, then workforce readiness — introduces near-horizon industry relevance without requiring deep technical specialisation.
How it is delivered
Built for working adults
- 90% asynchronous virtual instruction, with 10% delivered live
- 20 hours per week across all tracks and pathways
- Coursework centralised on our ARC Learning Center
- Hands-on work in the industry-standard AI tools participants will meet on the job — including Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot and NotebookLM
Partner network
Delivered with Maryland employers and specialists
ARISE-MD is coordinated by HUBZone Council, Inc. with a network of industry, education and supportive-services partners, including RSC Electrical and Mechanical Contractors, Ivantis Group, M-TEC Services, Premier Enterprise Solutions, Williams Consulting, CMT Services, and Purpose WorX.
Work with us
Bring opportunity to your community
We work with economic development organizations, government agencies, foundations, and corporate partners who want measurable community impact. Tell us about the community you serve.