A new Baltimore City Infrastructure Academy will prepare workers for government jobs that manage and fix city hardware — everything from police cruisers to heating and air conditioning systems — Mayor Brandon Scott announced Thursday afternoon.

“We are committed to filling the jobs that keep our city running, and we’re just as committed to making sure all of our residents get the skills and training that they need to pursue a great career,” Scott said from inside a new auto mechanic training facility in Park Heights.

The initiative will consolidate some city-run workforce development programs, including the Department of General Services’ Fleet Academy that trains workers to maintain roughly 5,600 pieces of motorized equipment — from lawn mowers to fire engines — into the Mayor’s Office for Infrastructure Development.

Future phases will aim to create a pipeline of skilled workers to move into jobs at agencies like the Department of Public Works, which manages the city’s water and wastewater systems, and its trash collection, and the Department of Transportation, which handles road resurfacing, street light management and underground conduits.

The launch comes as Baltimore is grappling with a host of infrastructure-related problems like underground pipes bursting into flames, a partial consent decree over broken or inaccessible sidewalks, and aging and failure-prone water and wastewater systems.

Scott, a Park Heights native, called it a “full-circle moment” for the neighborhood as the building, once a school, will serve as a new kind of educational institution.

“We are investing in this neighborhood because this neighborhood matters, not just because I grew up here, [but] because all of Baltimore’s neighborhoods matter,” he said.

There are billions of dollars’ worth of ongoing infrastructure projects in Baltimore, said City Administrator Faith Leach, and the academy will ensure that Baltimoreans have the skills for both public- and private-sector jobs.

Marquee projects like Amtrak’s replacement of a West Baltimore rail tunnel and the rebuild of the Francis Scott Key Bridge are underway. Other initiatives, like Scott’s commitment to address vacant housing or transitioning the city vehicle fleet to electric power, will require skilled labor that can work with new technologies.

“We want to make sure that the residents of Park Heights and every other community in the city are prepared for those well-paying jobs,” Leach said.

Scott said that it was critical to look within city schools, particularly Career and Technical Education programs, for the next generation of workers.

City Council Vice President Sharon Green Middleton, who represents the area that includes Park Heights, extolled apprenticeships as a valuable alternative to college.

“Our young people want to work,” Scott said.

Scott and Leach both spoke Wednesday at Baltimore’s first Infrastructure Summit, an event held at the Convention Center that brought together public- and private-sector leaders in construction and transportation. Workforce development was one of several key themes of the event.