This week, we’re covering:
Workforce and Labor Trends, By the Numbers.
Everyone's Using AI. Almost No One Has Built The Organization Around It
An Industry Model for Skills-Based Hiring
Partnerships, Investments, and Company Innovation
What We’re Reading (And Listening To)
Workforce and Labor Trends, By the Numbers
Nonfarm payrolls rose 29,000 in September 2026 while the unemployment rate increased to 4.2%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. [CNBC]
28% of US employees said that they use AI at least weekly, according to a study from Jobs for the Future, The Families & Workers Fund, and Gallup, while over half say they haven’t used AI for work. [Semafor]
About 7% of the current workforce may need to change jobs by 2035 because of AI-related displacement, with jobs in office and administrative support, retail and sales, and transportation and logistics being the most impacted, says McKinsey. [Bloomberg, subscription model]
Everyone's Using AI. Almost No One Has Built The Organization Around It
AI adoption began by enabling individuals to use the technology, but that it is now giving way to deeper integration of AI across corporate tech stacks, according to a CompTIA survey. Ensuring that companies see value from these deeper AI integrations requires changes in both workforce skill and operational processes to fully realize its full value, argues Seth Robinson, vice president of research for CompTIA. [HR Executive]
An Industry Model for Skills-Based Hiring
Electronics manufacturing has practiced skills-based hiring for decades, using industry certifications, apprenticeships, and hands-on training to develop workers based on their skills and competencies. David Hernandez, vice president of education at the Global Electronics Association, and Ebony Thomas, managing partner at Grads of Life, argue that this approach has created more accessible pathways into technical careers while keeping pace with changing technology and employer needs. The sector offers a model for how employers, educators and industry groups can build clear pathways from training to good jobs. [Forbes, subscription model]
Partnerships, Investments, and Company Innovation
The U.S. Department of Labor awarded $65 million in Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grants to consortia in seven states to build short-term programs that can qualify for Workforce Pell. The grants cover seven institutions and 102 consortium members. Programs will target AI infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, construction and skilled trades, nuclear energy, IT, and shipbuilding. [Community College Daily]
BlackRock Future Builders announced more than $13 million in grants to 15 organizations, the first awards from its $25 million national RFP. The grants aim to help more than 5,400 people in 26 states train for careers in more than a dozen trades, including electrical work, HVAC, welding, plumbing and pipefitting. Recipients include union training centers, chambers of commerce, colleges and nonprofits. Jobs for the Future (JFF) supported the application review process.
Verizon launched AI skills for America, a $70 million AI training initiative building off its Reskilling and Career Transition Fund for departing employees. The program offers a free AI training portal from IBM, Google, Microsoft, Anthropic, Coursera, and OpenAI to job seekers, displaced workers, educators, and small businesses. Goodwill Industries International, LISC and the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship will provide local coaching in select markets.
What We’re Reading (And Listening To)
What’s in the National Talent Strategy Act of 2026? [Bipartisan Policy Center]
College Leaders Prepare to Administer Workforce Pell as ED Approves Programs [Inside Higher Ed, subscription model]
America's skilled labor gap: 1.7M job openings yearly to meet growing demand, report says [The National News Desk]
America’s Next Workforce Challenge: Building Pathways To Better Jobs [Forbes, subscription model]
Empowering Learners to Navigate Education Through Labor Market Intelligence [Higher Education Digest]
Why The AI Skills Race Needs A New Workforce Development Strategy [Forbes, subscription model]
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.