The County College of Morris (CCM) is using an apprenticeship model to train workers for an AI-driven economy without requiring a four-year degree.
CCM is one of two New Jersey community colleges selected to partner with the AI Hub at Princeton University and the NJ Council of County Colleges on the Registered Data Scientist AI Apprenticeship. A news release said the program, supported by a U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) grant, combines classroom instruction with paid, on-the-job training with workforce partners.
The program aims to expand access to data science and AI training at a time when those skills are in demand. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment of data scientists to grow 35 percent from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3.5 percent growth across all occupations, and the World Economic Forum likewise identifies AI and big data as the fastest-growing skills in its 2025 employer survey.
The news release said the 16- to 18-month program is designed to remove a major barrier to technical education — cost. Tuition and fees are covered for participating apprentices, and students will earn an estimated $48,880 in wages during workplace training over the course of the apprenticeship.
“More and more in today’s world, employers don’t want a promise. A degree is a promise, right?” CCM President Anthony Iacono told the Center for Digital Education. “They want proof, and if you’ve been working with them, that gives them a lot of proof.”
In addition to experience, students receive a 30-credit CCM academic certificate in data science that can be applied to an associate degree at CCM, or for transfer credit.
Iacono said the program involves five academic courses that students take concurrently with on-the-job training.
“You don’t want them sitting in the classroom learning, learning, learning, but they’re never hands-on,” he said.
Iacono said the employers involved in the partnership reflect regional workforce needs, including manufacturers, pharmaceutical and life sciences companies and technology firms. He said the coursework will teach concepts that are helpful across industries: how to collect, analyze and communicate information to others, and how to use AI for simulations and models. On-the-job training will help contextualize that in-class learning.
“In the manufacturing world, what they want to know is production data,” he said. “If you’re in the pharmaceuticals, then they’re going to look not necessarily just at production, but they’re going to want the data that is more aligned to modeling and simulation.”
CCM’s model arrives as federal workforce policy increasingly treats apprenticeships as a vehicle for AI training. In April, the U.S. DOL announced a national initiative to integrate AI skills into registered apprenticeships, including for new, AI-focused occupations and embedding AI competencies in more traditional occupations. Apprenticeship.gov now provides resources for employers and educators to create or modify registered apprenticeship programs around AI skills.
Iacono said the program will start in January 2027 with a small cohort of less than 20 students and plans to scale up in the future.
“We’ve got to start leveraging these things because the workplace is changing rapidly,” Iacono said. “Will we have a skilled workforce that is able to work with these resources?”
