This week, we’re covering:
Workforce and Labor Trends, By the Numbers
States Turn to Talent Marketplaces to Expand Learner Mobility
Paid Service as a Pathway to Career Readiness
Partnerships, Investments, and Company Innovation
What We’re Reading (And Listening To)
Workforce and Labor Trends, By the Numbers
In a KPMG survey of 400 U.S. CEOs, 89% expect to increase headcount over the next three years as AI creates more business opportunities. 86% report that they're "redesigning roles, career paths and team structure to reflect human-AI collaboration.” [Axios]
More than 8 in 10 voters say preparing young people for careers should be a top or important priority for elected officials, but only 51% are satisfied with the attention officials are giving it, based on new national polling released by Jobs for the Future (JFF) and Britebound.
The cost of living has emerged as a leading obstacle to career growth, with 1 in 4 Americans saying they feel less confident than three years ago in their ability to build a stable, financially successful career. [HR Dive]
Workday’s latest Global Workforce Report found internal mobility has remained relatively flat year over year: 51% of employers increased promotion rates, while 49% saw fewer promotions and 57% made fewer lateral internal hires than the year prior. However, about 40% of employees said they witnessed reorganizations and restructuring in the past year. [HR Brew]
States Turn to Talent Marketplaces to Expand Learner Mobility
States are investing millions in talent marketplaces that connect education and workforce systems to make skills and credentials more portable, reduce credit loss, and address workforce shortages. Amber Garrison Duncan, executive vice president at C-BEN, emphasized the importance of cross-sector collaboration, noting that these marketplaces allow students to “aggregate their verified skills from all their different learning providers.” Alabama’s Talent Triad is emerging as a leading model, connecting learners to more than 1,700 credentials offered through the Alabama Community College System. [University Business]
Paid Service as a Pathway to Career Readiness
As AI reshapes entry-level employment, paid service programs can provide a critical pathway into the workforce. Michael D. Smith, president and CEO of Eckerd Connects and former head of AmeriCorps, argues that service programs build essential skills like problem-solving, communication, and leadership while providing meaningful work experience. Pointing to initiatives like Maryland Corps and Anthropic’s Claude Corps, he calls for greater investment in paid service opportunities that connect young people to credentials and careers. [Fortune, subscription model]
Partnerships, Investments, and Company Innovation
The U.S. Department of Labor awarded $95.5 million in Rapid Reskill Dislocated Worker grants to 20 projects in 17 states, funding new models to move laid-off workers into manufacturing, aerospace, energy and construction jobs. The announcement came three days after the department awarded $81.5 million in Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities grants to support employer-driven training, including registered apprenticeships, in skilled trades and construction, healthcare, manufacturing, and energy production across 13 projects in 11 states.
Tennessee launched the TNWorks Talent Accelerator, an online hub where employers can post hiring needs and connect with training providers. Through the hub’s TN Talent program, a $5 million federally funded initiative run with Guild, employers can apply for grants to train new hires and current employees in nuclear energy, AI infrastructure and advanced manufacturing.
Caterpillar announced up to $10 million to expand manufacturing and technician training in North Carolina, the sixth allocation from its five-year, $100 million Building the Future Workforce Initiative. Central Carolina Community College and the Sanford Area Growth Alliance will lead the work in Sanford, where Caterpillar plans to build a new plant for compact track loaders and telehandlers as part of a roughly $1 billion expansion in the state.
What We’re Reading (And Listening To)
Some Texas colleges get OK for new Workforce Pell that pays for job training [The Texas Tribune]
The next step in dual enrollment: career pathways [Community College Daily]
The future job market will break career ladders. Find out who could fall [The Washington Post, subscription model]
AI’s Impact on the Direct Care Workforce [Bipartisan Policy Center]
To Get This Job at McKinsey, You'll Need to Survive a Debate With AI First [The Wall Street Journal, subscription model]
Career Pathways and the Unfinished Work of Excellence [RealClearEducation]
Why AI didn’t transform your company [Fast Company]
This edition of “New Skills, Talent and Development” was drafted by Annie Han, Ben Clatterbuck, and Keith Lee and edited by Julia Pasette-Seamon and Erica Price Burns.