This week, we’re covering:
Workforce and Labor Trends, By the Numbers
How AI is Redesigning L&D Programs
Recruiters Shifting Away from “Talent is Everywhere” Toward Short List of Schools
Policy Recommendations for Workforce Development and U.S. Resilience
Partnerships, Investments, and Company Innovation
What We’re Reading (And Listening To)
Workforce and Labor Trends, By the Numbers
88% of workers globally are using AI at work, according to a new EY report, but only 28% of businesses have seen an impact on business transformation. [HR Brew]
Roughly 66% of hiring decision makers want to increase headcount in the first half of the year, according to a recent survey. However, more than 30% of respondents say that they had open jobs they could not fill—and skills were the most frequently cited obstacle to hiring. [HR Dive]
76% of employers say that recruiting or developing workers with AI-related skills is a moderate to high priority, according to a 2025 State of the Employer Report by work-based learning platform Riipen.
How AI is Redesigning L&D Programs
OpenAI may be the largest L&D platform in history: of ChatGPT’s 900 million weekly users, 40% or more are trying to either find information, develop a skill, or solve a problem. AI tools are dramatically shifting the L&D market, changing both how employees engage with learning as well as what resources they find most valuable. [Josh Bersin]
Recruiters Shifting Away from “Talent is Everywhere” Toward Short List of Schools
Recruiters may be moving away from a “talent is everywhere” strategy and towards recruitment strategies that focus on elite institutions: 26% of companies are exclusively recruiting from a short list of colleges and universities, up from 17% in 2022, according to a Veris Insights survey. Almost all other companies surveyed said they focus on “target schools” while recruiting, while also accepting applicants from a longer list of institutions. [The Wall Street Journal, subscription model]
Policy Recommendations for Workforce Development and U.S. Resilience
JPMorganChase’s PolicyCenter argues that without a stronger workforce pipeline, even major capital investments won’t help fill talent shortages across sectors like cybersecurity, healthcare, and manufacturing. They provided a series of federal and state policy recommendations to build that pipeline, emphasizing expanded and modernized apprenticeships, stronger employer-aligned training and sector partnerships, and better data systems that connect education and workforce outcomes to in-demand jobs. Policymakers should coordinate existing systems and incentives so more learners earn credentials with clear labor-market value and employers can reliably fill hard-to-fill roles essential to national competitiveness.
Partnerships, Investments, and Company Innovation
The U.S. Department of Labor shared a forecast notice for an upcoming $145 million pay-for-performance incentive payments program aimed at expanding the national Registered Apprenticeship system. The initiative will fund up to five four-year cooperative agreements to both launch new apprenticeship programs and scale existing ones, with extra emphasis on industries that already have strong apprenticeship infrastructure. The investment is considered a major step toward meeting the administration’s goal of exceeding 1 million active apprentices nationwide and closing skills gaps for in-demand, family-sustaining jobs.
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun signed an executive order last week to reestablish Indiana’s State Workforce Development Board after a state budget bill dissolved the Board last year. Last year’s budget bill transferred the Board’s responsibilities back to the state Department of Workforce Development; but the new executive order says the Board is necessary to comply with federal law on the implementation of state and workforce initiatives. Gov. Braun’s office says the Board will function as a “as a central coordinating body to align employers, education and training providers, and state agencies around measurable workforce outcomes.” [Indiana Capital Chronicle]
The Cherokee Nation is voting on a $30 million+ partnership with the University of Oklahoma to convert the tribe’s W.W. Hastings Hospital into a training facility to meet ongoing healthcare workforce shortages. If the partnership receives the approval of the Cherokee Nation Council, the University of Oklahoma will begin operating the nursing program in fall of 2026; the council will vote on the plan later this month. [Tribal Business News]
What We’re Reading (And Listening To)
Governors’ Workforce Development Efforts in 2025 [National Governors Association]
Memo to employers: Overlooking job quality leaves value on the table [World Economic Forum]
Soft skills in the AI era [Fast Company]
AI Is Changing How We Learn at Work [Harvard Business Review, subscription model]
McKinsey's CEO breaks down how AI is reshaping its workforce: 25% growth in some roles, 25% cuts in others [Business Insider, subscription model]
The Entry-Level Hiring Crisis Is Getting Worse In 2026 [Forbes, subscription model]
This edition of “New Skills, Talent and Development” was drafted by Zoe Almeida and Annie Han and edited by Julia Pasette-Seamon and Erica Price Burns.