What We're Reading: New Skills, Talent, and Development [Thursday, October 2, 2025]

A new DeVry University report found that while 85% of workers believe their skills will keep them employable over the next five years, 69% of employers worry that their workforce does not have the skills necessary for future success. What’s more, three-quarters of employers say that they are doing enough to make workers resilient in a shifting economy, but only 66% of workers agree that they’re getting the support they need. [HR Dive]

The “job hugging” trend continues as employees stay in roles due to low confidence in the current market.  Some HR leaders encourage “micromobility” within the organization, giving employees chances to experiment with short-term projects or roles to drive employee engagement and development. [HR Dive]

Accenture is rolling out a six-month, $865 million restructuring to refocus its workforce and operations around AI and digital services. As part of its new strategy, the company is investing in upskilling its employees, with training in high-demand AI and data capabilities. According to CEO Julie Sweet, Accenture will be “exiting people in a compressed timeline where reskilling is not a viable path for the skills it needs.” [Fortune, subscription model]

On Tuesday, the Department of Labor announced more than $86 million in funding for Industry-Driven Skills training programs across 14 states. The grants—awarded to state workforce development agencies, labor departments, or technical college systems—will be used for outcome-based reimbursements to employers that provide training for new or incumbent workers within high-demand industries like manufacturing, energy production, and ship building.

The Competency-Based Education Network (C-BEN) officially launched the National Project on Apprenticeship Standards and Interoperability (PASI), led by Josh Laney and funded through a U.S. Department of Labor agreement with the Alabama Commission on Higher Education. PASI aims to close gaps between state apprenticeship systems by creating shared standards, embedding competency-based design, and aligning pathways with higher education and employer needs. By building a scalable, public-facing infrastructure, PASI will help advance the national goal of one million active apprentices.

The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development Office of Apprenticeship announced this week $8 million in funding through the Pre-Apprenticeship in Career Education (PACE) and Growing Apprenticeship in Nontraditional Sectors (GAINS) programs to create and expand apprenticeships throughout the state. Funding will help offset some apprentice training and compensation costs (via PACE) and support expenses related to childcare, transportation, and other related costs (via GAINS). Applications for funding are open now through October 31 for PACE and November 26 for GAINS. Learn more about application requirements here.

Despite its identity as an academic hub, the city of Boston faced a 200,000+ worker shortage last year. The disconnection between available talent and open roles means that employers need to expand their idea of who is “qualified” for a particular role, Year Up’s senior director of solution development Mae Tobin-Hochstadt argues in Boston Business Journal. Tobin-Hochstadt believes that employers need to look to talent pools outside of elite institutions (including community college students, adult learners, and those with some college but no degree) and to invest in flexible training programs that prepare local talent to enter a competitive workforce. 

More than 6 in 10 white collar workers say that they would leave office work for a blue collar job in exchange for more stability and better pay, according to a recent survey. Additionally, 45% of workers say they’d like to switch fields entirely, and 55% say that their education or training did not prepare them for their current professional role. [Fortune, subscription model]

Melinda French Gates’ organization, Pivotal, is partnering with the Aspen Institute to launch the $60 million WIN Challenge. The initiative will fund nonprofits tackling systemic barriers to women’s equality in three areas: workplace culture and practices, artificial intelligence, and storytelling/narratives. The challenge is designed to accelerate solutions that shift how companies and communities support women. [HR Brew]

The U.S. government shutdown has halted the release of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) monthly jobs report, depriving markets of one of the most closely-watched economic indicators. [Quartz]

The ADP private payrolls report showed U.S. companies cut 32,000 jobs in September, a stark reversal from the median estimate from economists of a 51,000 gain. The decline was revealed after the data provider recalibrated its methodology, resulting in a reduction of 43,000 jobs in September compared to pre-benchmarked data. ADP said that the job creation continues to lose momentum across sectors. [Bloomberg, subscription model]

The hit film KPop Demon Hunters has more to do with job quality than you think, Jobs for the Future CEO Maria Flynn shared in Forbes. The demon hunting girl group, despite a fancy penthouse and private plane, face limitations related to a sense of belonging, and scheduling and autonomy, among other characteristics of a quality job.  Animated pop stars, they’re just like us. 

A new study from MIT’s Media Lab warns about the rise of “workslop”, or low-quality, AI-generated content like emails, reports, and memos that clog workflows. Instead of boosting productivity, companies are facing inefficiency as employees waste time sorting through AI-created noise. A survey of 1,150 U.S. adults who described themselves as desk workers found that 40 percent of respondents had recently encountered workslop and that each instance wasted an average of nearly two hours. Researchers warn that organizations risk losing credibility and decision-making clarity if they fail to establish quality controls. [Axios]