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This week, we’re covering:
Senate HELP Committee Holds Hearing on Apprenticeships to Strengthen the Workforce
A Wave of U.S. Layoffs Flash Early Warning Sign for Job Market
Durable Skills, Strong Starts: What Employers Really Want From Early Career Talent
Partnerships, Investments, and Company Innovation
What We’re Reading (And Listening To)
Workforce and Labor Trends, By the Numbers
Private companies added 42,000 jobs in October, according to ADP. [NBC News]
Job postings have fallen about 32% since the rise of ChatGPT, with early career workers in AI-exposed fields (e.g., fields where AI can more easily automate some tasks) bearing the brunt of the impact. [Fortune, subscription model]
A recent Harris Poll found that nearly 75% of workers turned down professional development opportunities due to cost, scheduling, or lack of employer support. More than half (55%) said they paid for job training themselves. [HR Dive]
Employees who use AI tools could save an average of 7.5 hours a week, or upward of 11 hours per week with training, according to research from the London School of Economics’ Inclusion Initiative and Protiviti, a global consulting firm. [HR Dive]
Quick Takes
Senate HELP Committee Holds Hearing on Apprenticeships to Strengthen the Workforce
On Wednesday, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) held a hearing, “Registered Apprenticeships: Scaling the Workforce for the Future,” to examine how to expand and modernize apprenticeship programs to meet growing workforce needs. Witnesses—Josh Laney of the Competency-Based Education Network (C-BEN), Dr. Latitia McCane, Gardner Carrick, John Downey, and Brent Booker—emphasized the importance of employer engagement, competency-based models, and broader access in streamlining apprenticeship registration and scaling these programs nationwide to close critical workforce gaps.
A Wave of U.S. Layoffs Flash Early Warning Sign for Job Market
Recent layoffs from major companies, including Starbucks, Target, and Amazon seem to signal a shift away from what economists called a “low hire, low fire” environment. While employers previously resisted filling open positions or cutting jobs in an uncertain market, the pace of layoffs indicate that managers may be losing their fear of firing, especially as automation and AI take over more entry-level positions. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said he only sees “very gradual cooling” in the labor market, but economists generally are keeping an eye out for rising jobless claims beyond the tech sector. [Bloomberg, subscription model]
Durable Skills, Strong Starts: What Employers Really Want From Early Career Talent
The Aspen Institute’s UpSkill America Program partnered with Western Governors University to release a report identifying which durable skills U.S. employers value in early career workers. The report found that most employers (85%) believe that durable skills are best developed through life and work experience rather than formal instruction, and that most employers (50%+) rank integrity, collaboration, attention to detail, and communication as crucial durable skills for early career workers.
Partnerships, Investments, and Company Innovation
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) announced a partnership with AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly and Company, and Merck to develop the Virginia Center for Advanced Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, a workforce training and education center network that aims to produce 2,000-2,500 trained professionals every year. The Center will collaborate with local higher education institutions to provide a variety of credentials and job training programs, including micro-credentialing, apprenticeship, and internship programs. As part of the partnership, industry partners will invest $120 million into the Center.
At a time when internships and first jobs are increasingly scarce for college graduates, Dana Stephenson, co-founder and CEO of Riipen, argues that we need to turn the classroom itself into a kind of talent incubator. The Canada-based education technology founder said in a recent Q&A that students gain a far greater competitive advantage when their work is put to real use—solving genuine business challenges and generating measurable impact—rather than confined to classroom simulations. “Unlike a typical business case study or simulated internship, these projects are live. The deliverables students create are actually implemented by employers, and students receive feedback, mentorship, and validation of their work.” Dana explains more about Riipen’s work building these programs, as well as his personal career journey, in Higher Ed Digest.
What We’re Reading (And Listening To)
Work in Progress: The magazine for leaders building the now and next [General Assembly]
No New Jobs Report: Millennials Face A Labor Market Blind Spot [Forbes, subscription model]
Childcare is so expensive many families are just giving up now, forcing them to sacrifice incomes, savings, and careers [Fortune, subscription model]
Air traffic controllers and why there aren’t enough of them [Brookings Institute]
Is HR the new frontier of AI at work? [Fast Company, subscription model]
Layoffs Aren’t Shaking Gen Z’s Commitment to Work-Life Balance [The Wall Street Journal, 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.