ReportWire

Tag: Upskilling

  • A New Survey Says Employees Using AI Believe It Will Create New Jobs

    The spreading use of artificial intelligence (AI) in business has generated much debate about its potential to replace many duties now done by humans — and also fears about the tech eliminating those jobs. But new data indicates that rather than spending time worrying about that risk, a majority of employees have been actively embracing AI, and using it to become increasingly valuable to their companies.

    That proactive approach to AI, and its positive benefits were a main finding in the recently released Global Workforce of the Future annual report by staffing and tech advisory company Adecco Group. Its survey of 35,700 global employees — 5,500 of whom were in the U.S. — showed 77 percent of respondents reporting use of the tech permitted them to perform tasks that had previously been beyond their reach. Another 71 percent of participants said nothing is holding back increased use of AI applications — up from 19 percent the previous year. That lead 37 percent of surveyed employees to describe themselves as already “future-ready” to keep pace as the tech continues changing their work, and ways they can serve employers.

    Significantly, vanishing jobs wasn’t the workplace mutation from AI that respondents cited most. Indeed, only 23 percent said they expected AI to eliminate company positions — a view shared by 20 percent of U.S. workers.

    By contrast, 76 percent of global participants believed the tech will create new jobs — an opinion also held by 90 percent of U.S. employees — with 70 percent of thinking it will redefine the ways they work (an evolution forecast by 73 percent of Americans).

    One consequence of most respondents viewing AI as an opportunity rather than a threat was the increased influence it had on their working lives in 2025. As a result, factors that topped the 2024 survey — including working flexibility and economic uncertainty — were pushed down the list by the spread and adoption of various forms of AI, which rose from the fifth to the first spot this year. Receiving more instruction, training, and guidance to use the tech more effectively for work were also top desires cited by participants.

    “Our research shows that three in four employees view AI as an opportunity, not a threat,” said Adecco Group CEO Denis Machuel in a foreword to the report. “In 2025, the workforce is more confident, ambitious, and ready for AI.”

    Still, the positive survey findings were partially offset by several concerns that employers should be aware of.

    For example, increased use of AI has not only left employees feeling confident and capable of doing more tasks than before, but also enjoying more flexiblility. On average, respondents said the tech saved them two hours of weekly work. While some participants said they used that time to check the quality and accuracy of content the tech produced, others said they invest the extra hours on upskilling, doing more creative work, and collaborating with colleagues.

    But at the same time, many respondents said they wanted more input and direction from employers on how to measure the impact of their use of AI for their company. Others said they’d similarly benefit by being briefed on and included in how the business intends to use AI in its strategic planning, which would allow them to more proactively adapt their jobs.

    “On one hand, there’s real excitement about what AI can do,” Machuel wrote. “On the other, there’s a need to set honest expectations about how it will change jobs in the long run. Getting this balance right means involving employees in the journey not just as technology adopters, but as co-creators of the future of work… AI and technology play an enabling role, but it’s clear they must be aligned with human needs, recognizing how a sense of purpose at work correlates directly to feelings of value and belonging.”

    What do business owners get from making that effort? In addition to employees increasingly embracing AI and improving their performance with it, they saw other benefits.

    For starters, fully 99 percent of respondents who described themselves as “future-ready” said they planned to stay with their current employers for the foreseeable future, compared to 53 percent of less AI-capable people. Meanwhile, the more employees said they’d been informed about how their work with the tech improved their own performance as well as their company’s results, the more inclined they were to go farther and faster with their AI upskilling.

    Progress is already being made in that area. The new survey found 41 percent of “future-ready” respondents reporting they were already involved with their employers’ efforts to redesign tasks and entire jobs to increased AI use, compared to just 24 percent in 2024. But participants in the recent study said they needs to go even farther in supporting their use and confidence in AI as an ally, rather than a rival.

    “Redesigning roles successfully will depend on open collaboration between employers and employees,” Machuel wrote. “Leaders have a responsibility to clearly communicate their vision, showing how people and AI in harmony can contribute meaningfully to the organization’s goals… There is no substitute for human connection. It will be people — not technology — who build resilient, adaptable workforces fit for the future.”

    Bruce Crumley

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  • Using AI to Replace Jobs? Layoffs Will Cost You. Do This Instead

    There’s been much debate on how artificial intelligence tools will change the way people work, and that it will take jobs away from humans. Indeed, mass layoffs have abounded in recent years, while entry-level jobs seem to have disappeared. But a new report argues the merits of a third option: upskilling, reskilling, and otherwise training current employees on new roles—positions that might not exist yet, but will be vital to helping businesses remain resilient in the face of rapid change.

    Those are the broad conclusions of the just released Talent Resilience Index (TRI) by labor market analytics company Lightcast, and Guild — which matches customer enterprises with education, upskilling, and retraining programs for their workforces. That effort allows businesses to retain employees by enabling them to perform new tasks created by ongoing change. In doing so, those businesses can shore up against an uncertain future, and prepare to capture trillions in extra revenue.

    “More than $280 billion has already been committed to semiconductor manufacturing, with hundreds of billions more flowing into infrastructure, supply chains, clean energy, AI, and advanced nuclear,” said Guild CEO Bijal Shah in emailed comments to Inc. “These are once-in-a-generation investments, but their success depends on whether the workforce can keep up.”

    Reskilling is key to keeping up, says Shah, arguing that increased workforce mobility translates to enhanced company performance and growth: “By moving employees into higher-impact roles, they unlock productivity, loyalty, and innovation.”

    Higher sales and retention

    According to Guild’s TRI, upskilling and reskilling has the potential to generate $8.5 trillion in extra revenue generated by 2030. That revenue would be lost if companies pursue their current habits of filling talent needs through external hires — instead, they’d pay an average 28 percent salary premium to lure outside recruits.

    By reskilling current employees instead, companies increase their internal mobility capacities, slash recruitment and onboarding costs, and allow their more valuable retrained workers to receive an average 15 percent boost in annual earnings.

    In other words, the training pays for itself. “Organizations that fill 60 percent or more of roles internally achieve four times higher sales per employee than those that don’t,” the TRI notes. There are other advantages to upskilling current staff, too. Employees whose retraining allows them to move upward to new positions within the same company also stick with their companies 60 percent to 65 percent more than external hires.

    But in addition to internal talent mobility and resilience delivering enormous advantages to individual businesses, they’re increasingly becoming essential to thriving economies. Indeed, the TRI calls workforce mobility “an economy within an economy: a hidden engine of bottom-up growth that rivals entire sectors in its economic contribution.”

    According to Guild, workforce mobility alone generated an average of $221 billion in additional annual earnings between 2016 and 2024 — equivalent to 1 percent of U.S. GDP. That additional wealth creation peaked at $255 billion in 2023. Those gains also explain why countries like Singapore, India, Saudi Arabia, and others are investing billions into programs retraining and upskilling employees, and enabling them to answer the new needs their employers face amid rapid change.

    But those investments in mobility abroad come at the very moment the TRI shows resilience in the U.S. slumping. Its recent reading of workforce mobility dropped to its lowest level since 2016, amid a shrinking national workforce, economic uncertainties, and increasing demand for AI skills by employers. Those forces have resulted in one out of three core jobs skills changing in the U.S. within the last three years — a mutation that rose as high as 75 percent in some professions.

    Reversing U.S. mobility slump

    How do U.S. companies reverse that slide? Shah thinks it will “likely come from a public-private model, where businesses lead the charge in building workforce mobility systems and government clears the roadblocks” for advancing those faster.

    “That means aligning education incentives, expanding credential portability, and treating workforce development like critical infrastructure,” she says. “Companies cannot solve the skills gap alone, but government policy alone also will not keep pace with technology, it is the intersection of the two that unlocks lasting resilience.”

    In drawing conclusions from the TRI’s results, Guild urges businesses to reformat their HR strategies to make mobility potentials a key focus in recruiting, along with continual upskilling of employees so they can step into new roles meeting emerging demands.

    As part of that, Guild says key performance indicators, job definitions, and promotion decisions should focus on employee resilience as a key criterion. The same holds true for setting salaries, with Guild using AI literacy as an example of why that makes good business sense.

    “Roles requiring AI skills command salaries 28 percent higher — an $18,000 premium on average,” the TRI says of current trends to recruit externally for those. “For employers, this creates a stark choice: pay unsustainable premiums for AI-ready talent that barely exists, or build it internally. The math favors building, but execution requires a resilience strategy.”

    In short: The payoff of building resilience usually dwarfs the investment.

    Take Guild customer OSF HealthCare, which made essential changes to the way it upskilled employees, and placed those at the heart of its HR strategy. The result was a 3-to-1 return on every dollar it invested; 60 percent less contract labor use in the first year alone; and an 89 percent retention rate, versus 54 percent in the wider healthcare sector.

    Similarly, Salesforce launched its Career Connect bootcamp to help less qualified employees harness emerging AI and other generative tech, and use those to attain new skills in jobs the company needs to fill. The response was a 75 percent employee adoption rate, allowing Salesforce to fill 50 percent of its new positions internally.

    That strategy, according to the TRI report also allowed Salesforce to retain workers and the talents they were initially hired for, while repositioning those into forward-facing jobs generating even greater value for the company. That’s precisely the resilience goal Guild urges all companies to aim for.

    “When companies enable workers to move from underutilized roles into in-demand positions, productivity rises, wages grow, and business performance accelerates,” Shah said. “But today’s reality is that talent is constrained, access is uneven, and time is short. If we do not act intentionally to skill, reskill, and mobilize the workforce we already have, we will fall short on innovation, competitiveness, and shared prosperity.”

    The good news, she adds, is that workers are ready, but need “a system built for the speed of today that invests in human adaptability, not just technological advancement.”

    Bruce Crumley

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  • Why Gen-Z Wants Employers to Pay for More Skills Training

    One of the most recent workplace developments has resulted from companies shifting hiring priorities from requiring applicants to have college degrees to recruiting people with specific skills and experience to fill openings instead. Apparently, workforces aren’t getting the message — or are responding in an unexpected way. New data shows many employees not only want to pursue additional degrees or vocational training, but also insist that employers support their efforts to improve their capabilities on the job.

    The evolving ambitions of the U.S. workforce were captured in recent survey of 1,000 professionals by Ohio’s Youngstown State University. It’s overarching conclusion is that while many workers either are taking college courses or would like to take them, or are pursuing professional certifications or licensing programs, or skills-based training, their goals are often thwarted by financial, time, or other constraints. As part of that, nearly two-thirds of respondents said they aren’t actively supported by employers in their objectives — resulting in 34 percent of respondents saying they plan to quit their jobs within the next year in search of better growth or upskilling opportunities.

    All told, 36 percent of survey participants reported they were currently enrolled in a degree program, certification course, or skills-based training. Another 35 percent said they had support through employer-provided education-related benefits or resources. That included partial or full reimbursement of costs in earning degrees, flexible work arrangements to pursue those, or paid time off to attend classes.

    Still, nearly half of respondents reported their current employers didn’t provide support or offer other growth opportunities, with 71 percent specifically complaining of insufficient company backing of their further education or training. The upshot — 34 percent of participants who said they planned to quit their jobs to look for work offering more educational and skill development assistance, with another 42 percent saying they’d already done so in the past.

    As often the case in today’s workplace, Gen Zers offered the most vivid example of current employee expectations — and disappointment when those are frustrated.

    True to their reputation of placing self-improvement as a top priority, members of the cohort born between 1997 and 2012 expressed the strongest desire for various forms of upskilling. Gen Zers also led all other workplace age groups saying they were enrolled in continuing education programs, with a 43 percent participation rate.

    Yet 86 percent of those younger workers said they wouldn’t make that effort unless employers financed at least part of it, with 76 percent citing the costs of those programs as the main obstacle to their career growth. As a result, 46 percent of Gen Z participants reported they were ready to quit their jobs, citing better professional growth opportunities, not higher pay, as their reason.

    Those situations and sentiments were also reflected at somewhat lesser degrees by Millennial, Gen X, and Baby Boom employee age cohorts. Large minorities of each cohort similarly expressed interest in, or even insisting on improving their work capabilities by earning degrees or learning new skills. Likewise, those saying they’d been unable to fulfill those ambitions cited the same lack of supportive employer financing programs, insufficient time or job flexibility, or burnout as Gen Zers.

    So what does all that mean for business owners?

    With companies increasingly prioritizing skills and work experience over degrees in hiring people, it’s only logical many workers are now noticing and responding to that by trying to improve their own abilities and performance on the job.

    But with over a third of survey respondents saying they’d rather face today’s tight labor market to look for new work than remain stuck where they are, companies would be wise to be more attentive to and supportive of those ambitions — or risk finding themselves having to recruit far more than they’d like to.

    “While professionals are eager to keep learning, many feel held back by barriers like time and cost,” the Youngstown State report on the findings concluded. “With only a third of workers saying their employer actively supports education, organizations face a real opportunity. Investing in employee growth could directly impact worker engagement and retention. For workers, finding a balance between career advancement and life responsibilities remains both a challenge and a priority.”

    Bruce Crumley

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  • 1 in 7 Jobs Are at Risk of AI Automation, SHRM Says

    As AI insinuates itself more deeply into our everyday and work lives, a new report underlines the paradigm-breaking impact the technology may have on the job market. A huge proportion of all U.S. workers are at a high risk of being replaced by automated AI systems. This represents a threat that could drive unemployment up and rattling the economy. But a separate report by the World Economic Forum suggests that one way to mitigate against this outcome is a dramatic reskilling and job redesigning effort. All of this news could feed into your plans for deploying AI tools in your company.

    The new report, from the world’s largest HR association, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), warns that 15 percent of all American jobs (just above one in seven, and affecting 23.2 million people in total) are at risk of being displaced by automatic processes, HRDive notes. 

    The types of job that most likely to be affected is one where at least half of the task list can be automated. This includes all forms of automation, including physical tools like robotics as well as artificial intelligence. This means the threat is nuanced, and, as many reports before have shown, some types of job are more at risk than others. For example, SHRM’s report estimates 39.7 percent of software development work is highly automated and at risk from AI, as is a similar share in “mathematical” occupations (financial analysis, perhaps). But just 7.3 percent of the work in the “education and library” professions is automated. 

    The report also suggests that 7.8 percent of U.S. work product — about 12 million jobs — is already at least 50 percent completed using generative AI tech.

    This might raise the specter of mass unemployment, with images not far removed from Great Depression-era poverty and unrest swirling in your head. But SHRM also notes that a “significant majority of employment faces nontechnical barriers to automation displacement.”

    This means that many types of work include processes, preferences, physical issues and so on that prevent the job being automated, and thus protects them from AI—at least for now. These types of work have emphasize “interpersonal skills and/or relatively low-tech tools,” such as “many education and health care occupations.” SHRM says “client preferences are the most common” reason for not worrying about AI encroaching on these jobs: people still prefer dealing with people.

    Another perspective on the AI threat was expressed in a new report from the World Economic Forum, addressing the new AI “dual workforce challenge, of “balancing overcapacity and talent shortages.” The report cites a global survey of C-suite executives, of which 92 percent said they had up to 20 percent “workforce overcapacity,” meaning they have more workers than they need . By 2028 that figure is expected to rise to 30 percent overcapacity by about half of the leaders surveyed. At the same time, 94 percent of the leaders say they face “critical” AI talent shortages.

    The WEF report suggests the issue affects many workplaces already, and the shift is only going to get more pronounced as AI technology improves and becomes more capable and widely used. What was once AI “experimentation” is now “structural disruption,” the report says. 

    The answer to the issue, the WEF says, is “reskilling at scale,” combined with “redesigning roles for human-AI collaboration,” and “embedding workforce planning into core strategy.” The report basically calls for using HR departments to smooth the transition between the “legacy” way of working (without AI) into the modern way, as companies integrate AI. Agentic AI has the promise of “workforce empowerment,” and  can “boost efficiency, resilience and competitiveness,” the WEF thinks while companies “stuck in pilot mode risk falling behind.”

    The WEF thinks it’s time for a dramatic upheaval in the workplace, pivoting around the skills needed to operate AI tools. Think of it as the equivalent of the arrival of PCs and printers in the office: typewriters were no longer necessary, and a whole new skillset among workers of all types was needed, The adjustment required rethinking jobs and also reskilling workers on the new tech en masse.

    What’s the takeaway for you and your company?

    Simply that if you’re deploying AI tools across your company — without the intent of outright replacing any of your workers — you need to make your plans very clear, and communicate the goals you’re aiming for by using AI. Your HR team may also need extra budget, time and direction in order to plan a large-scale ongoing, education program to teach workers how to use AI tools to boost their efficiency. You could also consider upskilling talented workers who’ve had their time freed-up by AI, by giving them expanded roles — an option that could help grow your business.

    Kit Eaton

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  • Molloy University launches ‘Talent Solutions’ program | Long Island Business News

    THE BLUEPRINT:

    • introduces to support workforce needs

    • Offers over 300 flexible courses, badges and certificates

    • Employers can create custom training programs with Molloy

    • Talent solutions summit set for Sept. 30 at Rockville Centre campus

    To support on Long Island, Molloy University is launching its Talent Solutions program, an employer-focused initiative designed to provide customized education strategies to upskill workers and improve employee retention.

    The university is hosting a talent solutions summit, with academic and business leaders, on Tuesday, Sept. 30, from 9:30 to 11 a.m. in the Larini Room of the Public Square Building on its Rockville Centre campus.

    “This is about listening to Long Island employers first and then building right-sized, right-now learning together with our partners,” James Lentini, president of Molloy University, said in a news release about the program.

    “From short, targeted badges to stackable certificates and, ultimately, degrees, Molloy Talent Solutions is built to be responsive and resilient for Long Island’s evolving economy,” he added.

    The program is designed to provide flexible education and training options that align with the needs of both employers and learners. It offers micro-badges, certificates, noncredit training and pathways that can lead to degree completion, aiming to bridge the gap between traditional blue-collar and white-collar workforce development.

    Developed with , which works with colleges and universities, the program includes an initial catalog of approximately 300 courses and custom modules. Topics include supply chain fundamentals, business communication, healthcare skills such as phlebotomy and pharmaceutical production, as well as biotech and laboratory competencies. Employers can choose from existing course offerings or work with Molloy to develop customized training tailored to specific workforce needs. Credentials earned through the program can be applied toward degree programs at Molloy.

    Panelists will include leaders such as Matt Cohen from the Long Island Association, Jamie Moore from Ignite Long Island, Rosalie Drago from Haugland Group, union representation, Molloy academic leadership, and a representative from Core Education. It will be moderated by Ed Thompson of Molloy University.

     


    Adina Genn

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  • Over half of professionals are so annoyed by AI trainings they say it feels like a second job, LinkedIn survey finds

    Over half of professionals report that AI trainings feel like a second job, according to a recent LinkedIn survey, highlighting widespread frustration among workers with the proliferation of workplace automation programs.

    A majority of respondents (51%) expressed irritation with the intensity and frequency of AI training requirements, stating that it’s interfering with their core job responsibilities and contributing to burnout. Employees cited dense training modules, unrealistic deadlines, and a lack of clarity about practical benefits as key sources of dissatisfaction.

    LinkedIn found an 82% increase in people posting on the platform about feeling overwhelmed and navigating change this year. “The mounting pressure to upskill in AI is fueling insecurity among professionals at work — with a third (33%) admitting they feel embarrassed by how little they understand it, and 35% saying they feel nervous talking about AI at work for fear of sounding uninformed,” LinkedIn wrote.

    Workplace impact

    These findings come as employers increase investment in upskilling efforts designed to help staff adapt to new AI-based processes. Instead of feeling empowered, many professionals say these trainings add stress and extend their working hours, often without extra compensation or real improvements to workflow.

    There are real consequences for this and anecdotal evidence that workers are rational to feel insecure. IgniteTech CEO Eric Vaughan told Fortune earlier this month that he laid off nearly 80% of his staff after they failed to respond to AI training, while Joshua Wöhle of Mindstone relayed a similar story of a client/CEO who ordered his staff to dedicate all Fridays to AI retraining, and invited them to leave the company if they didn’t have a constructive report back on their findings.

    The survey also found that, amid the flood of AI-related content and programs, professionals are increasingly turning to their networks—rather than official corporate resources or search engines—for trusted advice and support in navigating workplace changes. Some 43% of professionals say “their network, the people they know, is still their #1 source for advice at work,” ahead of search engines and AI tools. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of professionals say colleagues are helping them make decisions faster and more confidently.

    Mounting frustration with mandatory AI trainings may be just the tip of the iceberg. A recent MIT study found that 95% of generative AI pilots at enterprises have failed to deliver any measurable return on investment—fueling growing concerns over an AI stock bubble as corporate spending and investor hype far outweigh results. It seems to be tied with this frustration over ineffective or stumbling AI training efforts.

    MIT’s sobering findings

    The MIT NANDA report analyzed hundreds of AI deployments and found only 5% produced rapid revenue acceleration or noticeable operational improvements. The majority of pilots stall in the testing phase or get abandoned, with large companies taking nearly a year to scale projects that rarely succeed. Flawed enterprise integration and a gap in AI literacy—not just model quality—were cited as the main barriers.

    Wall Street and institutional investors are sounding the alarm, worried that record AI investments aren’t translating to profits and could trigger a painful reckoning for overvalued tech stocks. Some have started trimming exposure, fearing that the gap between reality and hype may be unsustainable, reminiscent of prior tech bubbles. The all-important Nvidia earnings on Wednesday illustrate the jitters, as record revenue still failed to prevent investors taking a few percentage points off the stock.

    Connections to workforce concerns

    As companies pour money into AI pilots and tech stocks, employees are increasingly skeptical of both the business value and the constant upskilling requirements. With over half of professionals saying AI trainings feel like a second job, the MIT report adds new context: companies’ aggressive push for digital transformation is straining workers, not yet augmenting them, as widely billed.

    The results underscore mounting tension between the pace of technological implementation and the lived experience of professionals, suggesting that companies may need to rethink their approach to AI upskilling to avoid further alienating employees.

    For this story, Fortune used generative AI to help with an initial draft. An editor verified the accuracy of the information before publishing. 

    Nick Lichtenberg

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  • Hire mindset over skill set | TechCrunch

    Hire mindset over skill set | TechCrunch


    Joshua Wöhle
    Contributor

    Joshua Wöhle is CEO at Mindstone, transforming daily learning from articles, podcasts, and videos into a quantifiable skills profile, much like LinkedIn. He personalizes your learning experience but also aligns it with your career goals or your company’s objectives, making every learning moment count.

    My career is rooted in the tech industry, but the lessons learned there are universally applicable across all sectors. Tech has always been synonymous with a frantic pace of change; the industry conjures up images of engineers working at breakneck speed to deploy new version after new version, with stagnation being a dirty word.

    AI is spreading this speed of innovation further and accelerating the workplace cadence across all sectors. As company founders, this allows us to look closely at the trends and strategies within the tech industry and use these insights to predict what will happen everywhere, shaping our hiring approaches for the next few years.

    CTOs (chief technology officers), often responsible for the hiring and firing of talent in tech, are the canaries in the coal mine when it comes to future-proof recruitment. They have been operating in a high-speed moving environment for longer than most. As the pace of change accelerates for all of us, they’ve uniquely positioned to identify emerging trends and shifts, particularly in skills and roles that are gaining or losing relevance. Their decisions and insights, therefore, provide valuable foresight into the new demands of the tech industry.

    In a recent survey I conducted with leading CTOs, a consensus emerged in hiring for longevity rather than immediacy, not prioritizing traditional skills but instead placing emphasis on adaptability and problem-solving acumen. I know this firsthand, having dropped out of university twice due to its rigid structure. Only later in life did I understand the key to success, and it’s not about formal qualifications but rather a willingness to learn and adapt. In engineering teams, it’s not just conventional technical skills, such as coding in the case of tech, but rather the aptitude for learning, teamwork, and proactive problem-solving.

    Only later in life did I understand the key to success, and it’s not about formal qualifications but rather a willingness to learn and adapt.

    Generative AI making more inroads into workflows, as seen recently in companies like Duolingo, is a timely reminder that the need to adapt is now here. The company cut its contractor workforce by 10%, using AI to fulfill some of its duties, hinting that imminent change is here. This move signals a broader trend: The ability to adapt swiftly and proficiently utilize new technological tools is becoming indispensable.

    The shift toward AI-driven changes in the workforce underlines the importance of upskilling. More importance should be placed on upskilling existing employees rather than recycling workforces. Telecom giant AT&T is an excellent example; after conducting a skill gap analysis, they found that almost half of their employees needed more adaptable skills for the company’s future needs. Instead of extensive recruitment, AT&T focused on upskilling and reskilling initiatives, particularly in areas like AI. In 2022, the company spent $135 million on employee learning and development, providing online education platforms for convenient learning opportunities.

    What does this mean for startups? Upskilling, especially in fields like AI, is more than just a remedy for skill shortages. It is a strategic long-term investment and will help cultivate a dynamic, adaptable workforce, which is crucial for driving innovation and growth in your business.



    Carrie Andrews

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  • The Skills Gap Is Rapidly Widening — Here's What We Must Do To Close It. | Entrepreneur

    The Skills Gap Is Rapidly Widening — Here's What We Must Do To Close It. | Entrepreneur

    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Employers and other leaders, along with most employees, know all too well that it’s a challenging time to be a worker. With the adoption of artificial intelligence and social media marketing particularly, the nature of productivity and what it means to be a skilled worker is transforming. Simply being attentive and hardworking used to pass muster, but today there is a plethora of digital skills that individuals must possess to be competitive. In fact, a 2022 report, “How Skills Are Disrupting Work: The Transformational Power of Fast Growing, In-Demand Skills” detailed that need for employees with skills in AI/machine learning, cloud computing, social media and product management was the highest ever in that year — and growing rapidly.

    The trouble is — an ever-widening skills gap prevents a large percentage of the unemployed and underemployed from being qualified for such jobs. For instance, that same report stated that over its preceding five years, the average U.S. employee had to either replace or upgrade 37% of skills in order to carry out the duties of their position. A 2023 study conducted by my own organization, Amazon Web Services (along with Gallup), found that 68% of employers in the United Kingdom are struggling to find staff members with the necessary digital knowledge. A more troubling figure still is that just 11% of workers in the U.K. possess the skills needed to obtain and retain these higher-tech jobs.

    When it comes to this skills gap, small and medium-size businesses find themselves in a unique position. While some leaders might feel daunted as they try to keep up with better-resourced and larger competitors, there are also advantages to being smaller and nimble. They can pivot quickly, testing out new pilot programs that arm smaller staffs with more certifications and training.

    Related: Are You In A Dead-End Job? Here Are The Tell-Tale Signs

    How upskilling creates revenue

    Largely trained in a time before AI and machine learning took over the conversation, today’s workers are also struggling with the effects of the pandemic. How can they keep up? One answer is “reskilling” (aka “upskilling”), in which employees set out to learn new skills either on their own or with the help of work-based programs. And not surprisingly, employers offering high-quality learning and development programs benefit from such an investment.

    Owners will be cheered to note that this doesn’t have to represent a massive time commitment: Training for specific tasks associated with higher digital skills can take as little as an hour, and offer an immediate return. To be most effective, however, such instruction needs to be outcome-driven, and approachable. For example, Amazon Web Services offers free training in many areas (including basic generative AI solutions) that’s designed to be easy for non-technical people to follow.

    Offering such opportunities doesn’t just mean more talented workers: That same Amazon Web Services study showed that revenue for companies engaged in training of this type was 168% higher than those with lower levels of digital skill advancement. Better still, employees with intermediate digital skills stand to earn 40% more annually than those with basic digital skills, while those in the advanced bracket earn a whopping 65% more. A 2023 white paper by authors representing MIT, Stanford University and the National Bureau of Economic Research confirmed this — that the promise of generative AI benefits less experienced workers the most. The goal is to level the playing field, allowing those with less experience to gain skills faster — upending inequality in productivity.

    Related: How to Keep Employees Engaged and Productive in the Age of AI

    Smaller organizations usually have smaller workforces, which means that the value of every employee (as a percentage of overall productivity) is much higher in a small and medium-size business than in a larger company. Similarly, the benefits of an upskilling program will ripple faster in smaller organizations, whether that means having more highly skilled managers in place or simply spreading the word about upskilling’s benefits.

    Lastly, such programs can go a long way towards recruiting talent. Smaller enterprises, pretty much inevitably, will wind up duking it out with much larger and resource-rich ones with which they simply can’t compete when it comes to salaries. In a PwC study on HR and recruiting, however, 51% of respondents reported a willingness to give up higher salaries for personal flexibility and training opportunities.

    Related: Employees With Advanced Digital Skills Contribute $507.9 Billion To India’s GDP: AWS Report

    Investing in the future

    At first blush, the cost of helping your workforce garner needed skills might seem hefty — even out of reach for some — but they don’t have to be. There are many free resources available to help train staff in cloud computing and other areas. For example, the Amazon Web Services Skill Builder offers free on-demand labs and hands-on learning for a variety of skill levels.

    Claire Gribbin

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  • Ava, Wizco’s New AI Interview Coach, Set to Transform the Job Market Preparation Landscape

    Ava, Wizco’s New AI Interview Coach, Set to Transform the Job Market Preparation Landscape

    Press Release
    •

    Nov 14, 2023 09:00 EST

    Wizco, the leading provider of interview preparation software, announced the launch of Ava, a new AI-powered interview prep engine. Ava leverages over 100,000 hours of interview data to deliver personalized, accessible, and effective interview preparation.


    NEW YORK, November 14, 2023 (Newswire.com)
    –
    Wizco has launched Ava, a pioneering AI-driven interview coach that is designed to transform the way people prepare for job interviews. Ava uses data from hundreds of thousands of hours of interviews to provide personalized coaching that is tailored to each user’s unique needs. 

    Ava’s interactive platform offers a comprehensive interview preparation experience that includes AI-powered insights and performance analytics. The platform simulates real-world interview scenarios, providing a dynamic and engaging way to practice. Users also receive feedback on their performance and targeted communication strategies to help them improve their interview skills. Ava has already helped users double their interview success rates, making it the ideal platform for anyone looking to prepare for a job interview.

    “We believe that every individual holds unique potential,” says Amir Erez, Wizco’s Co-founder. “In our mission to unlock this potential, we’ve combined the knowledge of human expertise with cutting-edge AI to create a coaching experience that’s truly personalized, interactive, and result-driven. Wizco began its journey with more than 5,000 industry experts, providing coaching to job seekers. This rich background in personal guidance and mentorship laid the foundation for developing Ava, allowing Wizco to encapsulate years of professional insight into an advanced AI coaching system. Ava is a testament to Wizco’s commitment to empowering job seekers through innovation, offering individualized coaching that’s accessible to everyone. Our goal is to ensure that every individual is recognized and supported, helping them perform at their utmost potential.”

    Try Ava for free 

    Wizco invites candidates to try Ava for free, giving them a chance to experience Ava’s unique approach to interview preparation and see how a hands-on experience can help them shine during interviews.

    To learn more about Ava or to get started with your own personalized session, visit Wizco’s website at www.wizco.io/ava 

    About Wizco 
    Wizco is a recognized leader in career development. The company melds technology and human expertise to deliver innovative career advancement solutions. With a network of over 5,000 industry experts committed to providing tailored guidance to job seekers, Wizco’s dedication to revolutionizing job preparation has solidified its reputation as a trusted name in career coaching.

    Source: Wizco

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  • Rehab Warriors, Johns Hopkins University – Carey Business School Announce Partnership

    Rehab Warriors, Johns Hopkins University – Carey Business School Announce Partnership

    New capstone course to focus on revitalizing disadvantaged communities and solutions for change.

    Press Release
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    Dec 14, 2022


    FORT WORTH, Texas, December 14, 2022 (Newswire.com)
    –
    Rehab Warriors announced that it has partnered with The Johns Hopkins University – Carey Business School to build a new capstone course focused on revitalizing disadvantaged communities.

    The course will be a part of the MS in Real Estate and Infrastructure, and will examine problems within communities, and practical solutions that can be identified, developed and executed. The partnership with Johns Hopkins University is a collaboration to pioneer change in a much-needed way. It allows for a direct educational pathway for veterans within the real estate industry to operate as a catalyst of positive transformation to the housing crisis in America.

    Rehab Warriors leverages veterans to build a workforce, as they provide veterans with world-class training in residential construction, remodeling, and small-scale development, empowering them with the necessary skills to be a force multiplier as Rehab Warriors collectively rebuilds communities that have been undercapitalized and underserved.

    “Partnering with The Johns Hopkins University – Carey Business School to develop curriculum on the goal of Rehab Warriors is an amazing opportunity to equip more people with the tools to revitalize their communities,” said Rehab Warriors Founder Andy Williams. “Redeveloping underserved communities is a vital aspect to restoring the pathway to homeownership for millions of Americans.” 

    To kick off 2023 with sparks, The Johns Hopkins University – Carey Business School and Rehab Warriors will be hosting a Summit in January, focusing on the continued proposition of veterans taking on important roles in the real estate industry. 

    The Summit will take place on Jan. 10 at 8:30 am ET at 100 International Drive, Baltimore MD 21022. To register, please visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rehab-warriors-johns-hopkins-carey-business-school-real-estate-summit-tickets-486881895857

    Source: Rehab Warriors

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  • Rehab Warriors Faces the Housing Problem Head-on, Commits to Upskilling Veterans

    Rehab Warriors Faces the Housing Problem Head-on, Commits to Upskilling Veterans

    By repurposing them as our nation’s most highly skilled and cross-functional asset and empowering them on a mission to rebuild underserved communities.

    Press Release
    –

    Nov 30, 2022 10:00 EST


    FORT WORTH, Texas, November 30, 2022 (Newswire.com)
    –
    The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reported there were more than 30,000 homeless veterans in 2022, with many struggling to find their footing transitioning from life after combat.

    Andy Williams – U.S. Marine and co-host of HGTV’s “Flip or Flop Fort Worth” – founded Rehab Warriors with one mission, to upskill veterans while rebuilding communities.

    Rehab Warriors is leveraging veteran leadership to build a workforce as they provide veterans with world-class training in residential construction, remodeling, and small-scale development, empowering them with the necessary skills to be a force multiplier as Rehab Warriors collectively rebuilds communities that have been undercapitalized and underserved.

    “The easiest way to help veterans transition is to double down on underserved communities and rebuild them with a purpose,” said Williams. “We at Rehab Warriors handle the American Dream of housing like a wounded warrior – we handle it with care. Everyone, especially veterans, deserves a pathway to housing and freedom.”

    Those pathways have become impossibly steep in recent years. Home prices rose 19% in 2021, after rising 10% in 2020. There were just 250,000 homes available nationwide for families earning $75,000 to $100,000 a year, barely one-third of the inventory from before the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) found, and in almost 500 U.S. cities, the average home price is more than $1 million. As the working class struggles to find housing for entry-level homes, the veteran is a perfect pipeline for local governments to increase their local housing supply while empowering veterans with high-earning careers, as they return home looking for their next mission.

    As the economy corrects and layoffs continue, it is only natural for Rehab Warriors’ cause to maintain focus on employment and economic pathways specifically for veterans.

    The Rehab Warriors leadership team has led the organization into early success with active development projects totaling over $400 million dollars in economic impact in the DFW metroplex alone, pioneering this integrated workforce development model in the real estate development industry. Rehab Warriors worked closely with the United States Department of Labor to build the first-of-its-kind apprenticeship program, then went on to gain approval with Texas Workforce Commission for a Career School that trains veterans in the fundamentals and principles of real estate development with emphasis on Project and Construction Management

    “Underserved communities are economically viable today as America maintains its housing deficit. These communities should be rebuilt with purpose and capitalized using incentives like CRA funds, HUD dollars, and opportunity zone tax advantages that lead to pathways of economic mobility for the underserved, but we must start with the veteran,” said Williams. “Nonprofits are challenged with the level of competition that capitalism brings as Wall Street continues to aggregate old housing stock and simultaneously build new housing stock for rent at scale.”

    Rehab Warriors is actively partnering with communities and municipalities, building off early success in cities such as Arlington, Hurst, Balch Springs, and Fort Worth, Texas, to provide post-certification pathways to veterans as they deploy back to local communities to lead the local rebuild efforts as Rehab Warriors starts their campaign to rebuild America’s housing supply.

    For more information, please visit: http://www.rehabwarriors.com

    Contact pr@rehabwarriors.com for media relations.

    Source: Rehab Warriors

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