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With automation and artificial intelligence changing the nature of work and employment, extra attention is being paid to developing the workforce of the future in order to ensure employees have the right skills. These employment issues were front and center Tuesday during the Boulder Economic Summit, where the theme was "The Workforce of the Future." The 11th annual summit, which drew a crowd of more than 350, is produced by the Boulder Economic Council, the Boulder Chamber's economic development arm. During his keynote presentation, "2030: The Workplace Revolution," futurist and Center for Work Ethic Development CEO Josh Davies warned that companies who don't evolve the way they identify and recruit talent are just "rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic." "Technology is coming and there is nothing we can do about it," he said. "The combination of increased automation along with the advent of artificial intelligence are working together to disrupt the workplace like we haven't seen in 30 years." Andi Rugg, executive director of Skillful Colorado, agreed. "There's a lot of anxiety with automation coming," she said. The goal must be to create an economy "where our businesses can thrive and grow and where our workers are able to thrive and grow."
With automation and artificial intelligence changing the nature of work and employment, extra attention is being paid to developing the workforce of the future in order to ensure employees have the right skills. These employment issues were front and center Tuesday during the Boulder Economic Summit, where the theme was "The Workforce of the Future." The 11th annual summit, which drew a crowd of more than 350, is produced by the Boulder Economic Council, the Boulder Chamber's economic development arm. During his keynote presentation, "2030: The Workplace Revolution," futurist and Center for Work Ethic Development CEO Josh Davies warned that companies who don't evolve the way they identify and recruit talent are just "rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic." "Technology is coming and there is nothing we can do about it," he said. "The combination of increased automation along with the advent of artificial intelligence are working together to disrupt the workplace like we haven't seen in 30 years." Andi Rugg, executive director of Skillful Colorado, agreed. "There's a lot of anxiety with automation coming," she said. The goal must be to create an economy "where our businesses can thrive and grow and where our workers are able to thrive and grow."
The Governor’s Office is developing a Coaching Corp. Career coaches are going through an 8-month program designed to help them navigate the digital economy. “I actually love my job,” said Angelina Villareal, a career coordinator at the Business & Workforce Center in Jefferson County. Villareal has worked with people looking for jobs for about seven years, she calls it the best career of her professional life.
Liz Shuler is the Secretary-Treasurer and chief financial officer of the AFL-CIO, the second top-level officer for the federation, the first woman elected to the position, and the youngest woman to sit on the federation's Executive Council. Liz started her career in Portland, Oregon as a proud union organizer and local union activist with International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 125. Prior to her election as Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO, Liz worked her way up through the ranks of the IBEW honing her mobilizing, policy, legislative and leadership skills, winning critical labor and progressive legislative fights on the west coast, and ultimately gaining executive leadership at the international headquarters in Washington, D.C. Liz's passion for broadening the union movement drives her leadership to reach to the rising American electorate - young workers, women, people of color, and immigrants - and re-introduce unions to America. In addition to overseeing the federation's operations and finances, Liz leads at the AFL-CIO on initiatives around the future of work, workforce development and training, industrial union councils, and women and young workers' economic empowerment. Liz is committed to busting myths to show the labor movement's diversity and innovative approaches to the workplace of the future, and the meaningful improvements a union voice on the job can bring to working families and our economy. Liz chairs both the AFL-CIO Executive Council Committees on Finance and Women Workers, and represents the AFL-CIO on the boards of the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust, the International Trade Union Confederation, the National Women's Law Center, Global Fairness Initiative, and the Solidarity Center, among many others.
Zoë Baird and Tim O’Reilly share their perspectives on the disruptive impact that automation and artificial intelligence will have on society, and their advice for what we need to do today to smooth the transition. In the New World of Work podcast, experts from the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) have explored key insights into the anticipated impact of automation and artificial intelligence (AI) technology, based on recent research on the future of work. What do other experts have to say? We sat down with Zoë Baird, president and CEO of the Markle Foundation, and Tim O’Reilly, founder and CEO of O’Reilly Media, at an event in San Francisco in collaboration with the Churchill Club, to share their thoughts on the new world of work. They address key questions: How do we retrain the workforce? What role does government play in the transition? How are businesses preparing for the shift? How do we ensure an equitable future of work? And, should we consider universal basic income?
College graduates, on average, earn substantially more over the course of their lifetimes than those with only a high school diploma. They are more socially mobile, with more than 30 percent of college grads who were raised middle class achieving top quintile income status over the course of their careers. In reality, roughly 50 percent of Denver Public Schools students don’t pursue any kind of post- graduate degree or credential following graduation. What happens to these kids? College isn’t the best fit for everyone, but in today’s world it doesn’t have to be. There are a multitude of educational pathways available that can lead to lucrative and fulfilling careers. They just don’t tend to get the same level of attention as the traditional college path. For example, there is a huge demand right now for highly skilled workers in fields such as cyber security, advanced manufacturing, technology and the skilled trades. These are jobs that require specialized training and/or credentials, but do not necessarily call for a traditional four- year degree. And they can be very lucrative. The average cyber security job pays $116,000 annually, according to a recent industry survey, for example. Non-traditional models are popping up that provide students with learning experiences that will prepare them for highly-skilled jobs in areas of need. Careerwise is one such program, founded in Colorado, with elements based off the Swiss apprenticeship system. Careerwise offers high school students paid apprenticeships where they spend two to three days a week getting hands- on experience in an in-demand field. Skillful is another local example, which promotes building a skills-based labor market with job-ready skills and helps employers find the qualified candidates they need.
Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, the Markle Foundation, and 20 States Launch the Skillful State Network; Introduce Skillful State Playbook Governors of 20 founding member states join together to share and accelerate workforce innovation. Announcement marks national expansion of Skillful, an initiative to create a skills-based labor market that better serves all Americans in a rapidly changing economy. DENVER and NEW YORK - February 15, 2018 - Today, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, Zoë Baird, CEO and president of the Markle Foundation, and 19 of the nation’s governors announced the formation of the Skillful State Network, a collaboration to transform the U.S. labor market at scale to one that is skills-based, in which people can demonstrate or obtain the skills needed for good digital economy jobs. The Network marks the national expansion of Skillful, a Markle Foundation initiative incubated in Colorado, which leverages data and the very technologies that are disrupting the economy to achieve a skills-based labor market where employers are able to find the talent they need and individuals can continuously acquire new skills and keep up with the pace of change. Founding governors are committed to sharing what works and have made partnership and innovation in workforce development a state priority to enable their residents and local employers to thrive in the digital economy. “As governors, we are joining together around a shared commitment to support a variety of career paths to good-paying jobs, and expand the talent pool for employers who need skilled workers to grow,” said Governor John Hickenlooper. “We twenty governors, Republican and Democrat, are serious about transforming our labor markets in ways that will benefit our nation for decades to come. In a short time, Colorado’s partnership with Skillful has provided incredible value in supporting a skills-based, industry-driven talent marketplace.” “Millions of Americans need to get connected to the skills and the jobs of our fast-changing digital economy,” said Baird. “The Skillful State Network was born out of the tremendous interest we’ve received from other states based on our work in Colorado. Governors have asked me to bring Skillful to their state and forming the Skillful State Network is a way to share our approach, tools and assets quickly. It also allows all of us to build on the great work being done in these states. States have always been laboratories for innovation and today are leading the transformation to the digital economy.” The Skillful State Playbook, introduced today with the Network, lays out the steps needed to create a skills-based labor market. The Playbook offers tools and resources jointly developed by Skillful, the state of Colorado, and numerous employers, tech companies including Microsoft and LinkedIn, educators, and community organizations. The free and public availability of the Skillful State Playbook establishes a model for the open sharing of best practices. Skillful State Network members may tailor or improve tools in the Playbook and add their own tools and resources to the Network’s portfolio. The Skillful State Network will support transformation at a scale and pace not possible through individual state actions. The Network will elevate and advance practices and ideas that states can adopt to achieve their workforce goals, including aligning education with industry; providing robust data to jobseekers; or training employers on skills-based practices. The Network is open to all interested states. “In just our formative conversations, I am so inspired by the variety of programs as well as cutting-edge pilots each Skillful State Network member is bringing to the table,” said Beth Cobert, CEO of Skillful. “Each state is unique, yet shares a commitment to collaboration, experimentation, and progress.” Skillful State Network members will have the opportunity to: • access the Skillful State Network portfolio of tools and data • learn how to implement the tools and assets featured in the Skillful State Playbook • share and learn from the unique insights drawn from each other’s efforts • foster innovative partnership opportunities • hone methods of engagement within their labor markets • receive advisory support from Skillful staff • gain access to Markle’s cross-sector network of national leaders and partners
A week rarely goes by without a new dystopian prediction about technologically driven mass unemployment. As artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic technologies advance faster than even their own developers expected, studies are finding that many of the tasks and occupations that employ people can already be automated. Estimates of the share of automatable employment vary widely, from 14% of all jobs in OECD countries to nearly 50% of all jobs in the US. According to the McKinsey Global Institute, 9-32% of the workforce in developed economies could be displaced within the next decade. Across all countries, low-skilled occupations that require less formal education will be the most susceptible to automation, whereas jobs requiring professional training and/or tertiary education will be less threatened, at least for now. Either way, we urgently need to start furnishing workers with new skills to meet future labor-market demands. Economists predict that technological change will eventually create as many jobs as it destroys. But there will be significant hurdles along the way. As things stand, too many US workers lack the skills needed for the good jobs of the future. Though around one-third of US adults have a four-year college degree – the highest proportion on record – an equal share has no more than a high-school diploma. For workers at all educational levels, acquiring additional skills to stay abreast of technologically driven occupational changes will require less “seat-time” in traditional classrooms, and more dynamic forms of workforce training. A good example of such training is offered by Skillful, a nonprofit venture supported by the Markle Foundation, Microsoft, LinkedIn, and the state of Colorado. Skillful is running a pilot project in Colorado to help workers without a college degree upgrade and market their skills. The idea is to focus both on job seekers and employers, and on skills rather than degrees.
A week rarely goes by without a new dystopian prediction about technologically driven mass unemployment. As artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic technologies advance faster than even their own developers expected, studies are finding that many of the tasks and occupations that employ people can already be automated. Estimates of the share of automatable employment vary widely, from 14% of all jobs in OECD countries to nearly 50% of all jobs in the US. According to the McKinsey Global Institute, 9-32% of the workforce in developed economies could be displaced within the next decade. Economists predict that technological change will eventually create as many jobs as it destroys. But there will be significant hurdles along the way. As things stand, too many US workers lack the skills needed for the good jobs of the future. Though around one-third of US adults have a four-year college degree – the highest proportion on record – an equal share has no more than a high-school diploma. For workers at all educational levels, acquiring additional skills to stay abreast of technologically driven occupational changes will require less “seat-time” in traditional classrooms, and more dynamic forms of workforce training. A good example of such training is offered by Skillful, a nonprofit venture supported by the Markle Foundation, Microsoft, LinkedIn, and the state of Colorado. Skillful is running a pilot project in Colorado to help workers without a college degree upgrade and market their skills. The idea is to focus both on job seekers and employers, and on skills rather than degrees. For Skillful CEO Beth Cobert, the goal is to get employers to start appreciating “hard” skills, such as carpentry or web design, and “soft” skills in communication or leadership, even if such skills weren’t acquired in a formal setting, and to recognize workers’ potential for future development. Workers can acquire many of these skills through new forms of training such as targeted certification programs, technology “boot camps,” apprenticeships, and on-the-job classes.
