Years ago, in a conversation about the responsibilities of leadership, one of my mentors offered advice I’ve never forgotten: CEOs are central to creating jobs.
At the time I was far from the C-suite, but the idea stuck with me. Over time, I came to understand that job creation has two tracks. First, it’s about building the conditions for growth inside your organization – expanding your business in ways that create opportunity for employees, particularly those at the start of their careers. If your revenue is not growing rapidly, you are likely not creating many new jobs. Second, it’s about looking outward – investing in and engaging with the communities you serve to cultivate the next generation of talent, molding the future workforce so that it is job ready.
At Honeywell, our commitment to preparing the next generation for this technology-driven economy is enabled by a new model of public–private partnership, one in which industry, government, and educators collaborate to scale access, relevance and opportunity, bridging the gap between academic theory and real-world application.
These are strategic investments in national competitiveness. They reflect our understanding that talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not, and the future of STEM careers depends on meeting students where they are at multiple points in their journey—in middle school, high school, college and with internship opportunities. It’s essential to offer flexible, skill-based pathways to prepare the next generation for the realities of a rapidly changing workforce.
What does this mean in practice?
For government, it is a matter of realigning policy priorities with economic reality. Tax incentives, workforce grants, credentialing reform – the list of policy prescriptions is long. The short answer is that we must approach workforce education specifically which encourages how to build things as a national priority. Our global competitiveness demands it.
At the same time, our nation’s educational institutions must be open to collaborate with business. Just recently, Honeywell and the University of North Carolina Charlotte announced a unique partnership in which we will invest $10 million to help turn a dated campus facility into a modern innovation hub that will train the workforce of the future for the jobs of the future. While the approach may not follow the traditional philanthropic nature of the corporate/college relationship, it will drive the development of a collaborative vision of what that future is. I expect to be surprised more than once at the ideas that emerge.
Finally, companies must invest in future workers and leaders. At Honeywell, we’ve expanded our internship program – doubling participation to 2,500 students in 2025 – to give young graduates from all disciplines hands-on experience that aligns with industry needs. We’ve also deepened our support for FIRST Robotics, a global nonprofit that inspires students to pursue STEM education and now reaches 40,000 students worldwide. And through a partnership with Discovery Education, we’re helping scale a global environmental science curriculum aimed at reaching 10 million students by 2030. All our efforts are targeted to enable students to become employable.
In short, we recognize that our responsibility goes beyond hiring the best student engineers from the top ranks of our major institutions. It requires us to engage directly to excite, mold, and support this workforce of the future in full partnership with trade schools, colleges, and universities.
The disruption we face is real – but the opportunity to tear down the walls that keep policymakers, educators, and CEOs from engaging collectively is equally real. To my colleagues in industry, I urge you to continue expanding from academic philanthropists to co-designers of the talent pipeline. To educational leaders, look to what UNC Charlotte has done – and bring industry to the table as an active partner, not just a funder. And, policymakers, we need your collaboration prioritizing the needs of America’s future workers, so they have access to the tools they need to thrive.
AI and automation are already reshaping the future of work, but our collective choices will determine whether the disruption leads to decline or renewal. Deeper partnerships across government, academia, and industry will build a talent pipeline that is more innovative than ever before.
These actions are even more important, as the 2025 job market has proven to be particularly challenging for college graduates, with many facing longer job searches, underemployment, or the need to pivot into alternative career paths. Shared action and shared accountability will drive our initiatives, as well as the next era of American competitiveness.
The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.
Grace Maliska
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