This week, we’re covering:
Workforce and Labor Trends, By the Numbers
How to Build and Integrate Pro-Worker AI
Pro Bono Service Builds Human Skills Essential to Succeed in AI Era
Partnerships, Investments, and Company Innovation
What We’re Reading (And Listening To)
Workforce and Labor Trends, By the Numbers
Nine in 10 business leaders say that they consider basic data literacy skills to be “important” or “very important.” A similar percentage said the same of a worker’s ability to write, according to a new survey of more than 500 business leaders across the U.S. and U.K.
Compliance, AI literacy, client prospecting, operational efficiency, and data analytics were ranked the top five fastest-growing HR skills among HR professionals in LinkedIn’s Skills on the Rise report for 2026.
AI Model & Application Development (20%) and AI Literacy (19%) were ranked the most difficult-to-find skills in a global survey of 39,000 employers across 41 countries. Engineering (19%), Sales & Marketing (18%), and Manufacturing & Production (17%) were ranked the next most difficult to find.
Pro Bono Service Builds Human Skills Essential to Succeed in AI Era
A new report from the Taproot Foundation, with support from PwC, finds that pro bono service can help workers build critical human skills (including empathy, communication, and collaboration) by placing professionals in new contexts where they must work with different stakeholders and solve unfamiliar problems. A Taproot survey of workers found that 82% of respondents believe these human skills are just as important as technical skills, and respondents say human skills are best learned through active practice (through on-the-job experience or pro bono service), rather than through online or in-person training. [Charter, subscription model]
How to Build and Integrate Pro-Worker AI
A new report from the Brookings Institute argues in favor of “pro-worker AI”: artificial intelligence that doesn’t replace workers, but augments human skills and increases the value of worker expertise. Pro-worker AI helps employees perform tasks more effectively, learn new skills, and create entirely new kinds of work rather than simply automating existing jobs. The analysis also outlines policy steps such as targeted public investment and tax reforms to steer AI development toward tools that strengthen workers and reduce inequality.
Partnerships, Investments, and Company Innovation
Anthropic unveiled new AI tools last week for its Claude Cowork agent software designed to automate work in HR, among several other sectors. The rollout comes as Anthropic works to develop plug-ins in partnership with specific businesses, and to broaden the degree to which organizations can tailor plug-ins to their specific business needs. [Bloomberg, subscription model]
Walmart announced last month that it will offer free AI training to 1.6 million workers. In partnership with Google, Walmart will offer both frontline and corporate staff access to courses in pursuit of Google’s new AI Professional Certification, including training on the fundamentals of AI, as well as how AI can inform research, app building, and communication. [Fortune, subscription model]
What We’re Reading (And Listening To)
Where Senior Leaders Are Struggling with AI Adoption, According to Research [Harvard Business Review, subscription model]
Managers Are a Missing Link for Boosting L&D Success [SHRM, subscription model]
Morgan Stanley predicts AI won’t let you retire early: Instead, you’ll have to train for jobs that don’t exist yet. [Fortune, subscription model]
Can Skills-First Hiring Fix Our Broken Talent Pipeline? [SHRM, subscription model]
Skills-based hiring was an HR mantra. Execution never followed [Fortune, 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.