Afleveringen
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In this episode of Work in Progress, we're talking about one of the many weapons in the battle for talent in the U.S. – employer-paid education benefits. Joining me in the conversation is Bijal Shah, the CEO of Guild, which delivers customized workforce and skilling solutions for companies through online and in-person courses. Our discussion is centered around the critical need for talent development, especially in the face of rapid technological changes. "The problem that we see in the United States isn't just a U.S. problem; it's a global problem," says Shah. Analysis released by the World Economic Forum in January concludes that by 2030, 92 million jobs will be displaced. But the number of new jobs will be almost double that in the same time period. And they predict that the United States will soon face the tightest labor market in more than six decades. That means employers will be competing with each other for talent. The employer-provided education benefit could be a deciding factor for a job seeker or for an employee trying to decide whether they want to stay with the company or leave.What makes it attractive to potential and current workers? The idea that your employer is paying for you to learn important skills, which could lead to industry credentials which could lead to economic mobility. "Accounting for the diverse needs of an employee population means offering a mix of learning programs through the education benefit: foundational learning programs (high school completion and English language learning), short-form (certificates and bootcamps), and degrees (associate’s and bachelor’s) — all suited to the needs of working adult learners," according to Guild. "We optimize our learning for working adult learners," Shah explains. "That is the population that we are most focused on. Any kind of asynchronous and online learning you can do is just really helpful when you think about the flexibility that these individuals need, when you think about the fact that they sometimes work on nights and weekends, and they don't usually have traditional hours or traditional jobs."In the podcast, Shah and I discuss some of the types of training in specific industries that employers are adding to their education benefits and where she is seeing the biggest demand.You can listen to the entire conversation here, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find our podcasts on the Work in Progress YouTube channel.Episode 354: Bijal Shah, CEO, GuildHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNationProducer: Larry BuhlTheme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode hereWork in Progress Podcast: Catch up on previous episodes here
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In this episode of Work in Progress, we're talking about skills-first hiring, the policy of hiring based on talent and skills as opposed to a degree or job title. Opportunity@Work has been a long-time advocate for skills-first hiring as a pathway to good careers and economic mobility through its Tear the Paper Ceiling awareness campaign.
Skills-first proponents are calling on employers to remove four-year degree requirements for thousands of high-wage jobs to open up opportunity to more people.
The nonprofit's chief impact office Papia Debroy and its vice president of STARs policy Blair Corcoran de Castillo join me on the podcast to discuss a new study of the impact of prioritizing skills over degrees in hiring in state government.
Skills-First Hiring = More Opportunity for STARs
"There are about 60 million workers who have a bachelor's degree or a higher level of educational attainment. Obviously, these workers have traversed a critical pathway in our U.S. labor force," explains Debroy. "But, in addition to them, there are 70 million who have a high school diploma, do not have a bachelor's degree, but have been bringing extraordinary skills to work. These are workers who are skilled through alternative routes, or STARs."
Those alternative routes could include community college, military service, or on-the-job experience.
"A lot of skills-first hiring is really about how do we surface this population of talent to really understand skills instead of pedigree when we consider who is qualified for different jobs in the United States," Debroy adds.
So far, according to Opportunity@Work, 26 states have signed on to the idea of hiring or promoting state employees based on their skills, knowledge, and abilities, regardless of how they attained those skills.
"What's really exciting is the civil service, who many people thought were going to be the biggest barrier to public sector hiring change, are actually real advocates of this," says de Castillo.
To determine if skills-based hiring is making progress in terms of expanding opportunities for job seekers and workers without four-year degrees, de Castillo and Debroy and others authored a study of its effectiveness in state government.
"States are actually thinking more critically about what it means to access all of the talent in their communities, and they're thinking about what it means for representation in government, trusting government, and improved citizen services and just government efficiency," says de Castillo.
"We've seen real action. We've seen bachelor's degree requirements decline by 2.5 percentage points year-over-year because of policy exposure. This has expanded access to the jobs for STARs tremendously. Right now with the 26 states, 570,000 STARs could gain access to jobs they couldn't yesterday or the year before this happened," she concludes.
Debroy adds, "The Paper Ceiling represents an invisible barrier of degree screens, of biased algorithms, of stereotypes, of exclusive professional networking. These are all characteristics that block career opportunities for workers who are skilled through alternative routes.
"The first set of actions [by the states] has led to an increased awareness of this population as a vast, overlooked, diverse, and skilled population of the workforce that had been historically overlooked for public sector jobs. What was so extraordinary was not just the number that Blair just shared, but also that we're starting to see shifts in precisely the types of jobs that STARs have the skills for but have historically not had access to obtain in a lot of these states.
"We're excited to see the progress in roles like IT roles and management roles in health care roles, a lot of jobs that have historically offered economic mobility to the American workforce," Debroy tells me.
There is a lot more in the podcast on the impact of skills-first hiring on workers and job seekers in the public sector, -
Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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Political rhetoric around immigration can be polarizing. In this episode of the Work in Progress podcast, we take a step back and look at the economic impact of the immigrant workforce and the jobs they fill. Joining me in the discussion is Jane Oates, senior policy advisor for WorkingNation.
The U.S. is home to 47.8 million immigrants, about 14.3% of the population. The immigrant population is about 45% Latino from Spanish-speaking countries, 31% Southeast Asian, 12% from Europe and Canada, and the rest from other countries, based on U.S. Census data.
One in five U.S. workers is an immigrant.
From high-paying jobs in tech to low-wage jobs in agriculture and home health care, they are a vital part of our workforce and consumer shopping, contributing $1.6 trillion to the economy and paying more than $579 billion in local, state, and federal taxes, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
As Jane explains, for example, "the Latino labor market participation rate is 80%. The general average for the whole population is 62.5%. The Latino population in the United States represents a GDP that's greater than the GDP of India or the U.K.," says Jane. "So, losing any of that buying power is going to be really detrimental to the U.S."
In the podcast, Jane and I discuss some of the misperceptions around immigrants and other foreign workers, and the work the are doing in the U.S. She explains how employers play a major role in bringing them to the country.
"Know that before you can apply for a visa – whether H1B, H2B, H2A, it doesn't matter – an employer has to demonstrate that they have advertised locally for local talent. An employer has to promise you a job before you can get that visa," she says.
There are caps on H-1B visas, these are for workers with bachelor's degree and higher. There are also caps on H-2B visas, which are visas for non-agricultural temporary workers. "They're doing construction. They're doing special manufacturing. They may be people doing masonry.
"Then finally, the H-2A, which has no caps. That's ag workers. Every employer will tell you that they cannot get people to pick fruit, to pack fruit. They can't get them to mow lawns, pick apples. You can talk to employer after employer and they'll say, 'I tried to get local talent. I'd like to do that,'" she adds.
There is a lot more in the podcast on the economic impact of immigrants, including their role in starting new small businesses.
You can listen to the entire conversation here, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find our podcasts on the Work in Progress YouTube channel.
Episode 352: Jane Oates, Senior Policy Advisor, WorkingNationHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNationProducer: Larry BuhlTheme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode hereWork in Progress Podcast: Catch up on previous episodes here -
In this episode of the Work in Progress podcast, we're talking about AI skills – there are more than you might think – and about the other must-have skills that employers are looking for today. I'm joined in conversation by Marni Baker Stein, chief content officer for Coursera, one of the largest online learning platform in the world.
Through partnerships with more than 350 leading universities and companies – Google, IBM, Yale, and Duke, to name a few – Coursera has helped more than 168 million people learners build new skills.
Stein says the rapid implementation of Chat-GPT and other AI products is having a "cascading effect across all sectors, all job roles, and all skills across disciplines. The Future of Jobs report [from the World Economic Forum] found that 50% of employers plan to reorient their business in response to AI.
"And 85% of those employers say they plan to upskill their workforce in response to these skills gaps," says Stein. She adds that a large number of those employers are saying that they prefer job applicants that have verified AI skills.
Coursera's own analysis of the fastest-growing skills for 2025 confirms that demand. "There is no doubt about it that if you don't already have AI skills, you absolutely need to develop them. (Additionally), you absolutely need to develop them very specifically for the job that you're in and the job tasks that you're doing," she emphatically points out.
In the podcast, we go into depth about what those skills actually look like – what you need to learn how to do. We also discuss the top non-tech skills all employers want. Of course, we talk about how jobseekers and workers can get those skills.
You can listen to the entire conversation here, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find our podcasts on the Work in Progress YouTube channel.
Episode 351: Marni Baker Stein, chief content officer, CourseraHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNationProducer: Larry BuhlTheme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode hereWork in Progress Podcast: Catch up on previous episodes here -
In this episode of Work in Progress, I'm back at CES 2025, looking at the impact AI and digitalization are changing the workforce and shaping the future of industries like aviation and manufacturing. I stop by the booth of tech and manufacturing giant Siemens, where U.S. CEO Barbara Humpton shares how her company is using AI to create innovate products and projects with their partners.
Here is some of what we discussed:
Siemens is partnering with aviation startup JetZero to use AI to design a groundbreaking blended-wing aircraft that will reduce emissions by 50%. The plane will be made in the U.S. and create an estimated 10,000 U.S. jobs.
Siemens is using AI and digital tools to make manufacturing and design processes more efficient, enabling workers to transition into higher-skilled, better-paid roles.
Siemens is also leveraging AI and digitalization to address global challenges like water scarcity through partnerships like the one with Wayout, a company using technology to purify water in water-distressed areas.
Siemens is demonstrating its transformation from a traditional manufacturing company to a tech leader driving sustainable innovation and economic growth in the U.S.
Humpton goes into detail on all of this. It's eye-opening to see how much AI is changing the workforce and every industry.
You can listen to the entire conversation here, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find our podcasts on the Work in Progress YouTube channel.
Episode 350: Barbara Humpton, CEO, Siemens USAHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNationProducer: Larry BuhlTheme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode hereWork in Progress Podcast: Catch up on previous episodes here -
In this episode of Work in Progress, I head to CES 2025 to explore how tech innovations are creating more job opportunities and economic mobility in Rural America, and how they are transforming farming. I caught up with Matt Dunne, founder and executive director of Center on Rural Innovation, and Jeff Runde, engineering director at AgTech giant John Deere, who share their insights in this episode.
Rural America: Center on Rural Innovation is Creating Tech Companies
The Center on Rural Innovation (CORI) is working to close the technology opportunity gap in Rural America by helping communities develop technology jobs and innovation-based companies.
"The biggest challenge for rural founders and aspiring rural technologists is isolation," says Dunne. "It's really nothing else. It's not their capacity, their tenacity, or even their innovative ideas, it's being able to connect them to the advisors that can give them the information that they need to be able to be successful, as you might find in a Palo Alto or a Cambridge, Massachusetts."
Dunne explains that for the past eight years CORI has been helping attract venture capital to founders in towns in Rural America. In the podcast, he details how that work has transformed Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and Winston, North Carolina, creating good-paying tech jobs.
Rural America: AgTech is Changing Farming
At CES, I also saw firsthand how tech is changing the agricultural industry. The American Farm Bureau Federation estimates there are roughly 2.4 million farm jobs that need to be filled annually.
Runde showed me John Deere's new driverless tractor, the Autonomous 9RX Tractor, which he says can help the American farmer plan, plant, and harvest their crops. It's huge and combines advanced computer vision, AI, and cameras to help the machines navigate their environments.
In the podcast, Runde explains how farmers can operate the controls from a mobile device and what it means for productivity and the economy in Rural America.
You can listen to the entire conversation here, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find our podcasts on the Work in Progress YouTube channel.
Episode 349: Matt Dunne, founder and executive director, Center on Rural Innovation, and Jeff Runde, engineering director, John DeereHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNationProducer: Larry BuhlTheme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode hereWork in Progress Podcast: Catch up on previous episodes here -
In this episode of Work in Progress, we're talking about the important role apprenticeships play in preparing people for careers with good pay, benefits, and opportunities for advancement.
You might be surprised to learn that these amazing earn-and-learn opportunities – yes, you get a paycheck as you learn! – are not just in the skilled trades. They're in a growing number of diverse, in-demand industries.
John Colborn is the executive director of Apprenticeships for America and joins me in conversation. He makes a strong case for why apprenticeships are so valuable.
"An apprenticeship is a job. It's one of the attractions of apprenticeship. You are very much engaged. This is not a theoretical exercise. You're very much engaged in the workplace," he explains.
He adds, "An important feature of an apprenticeship is that there's mentorship involved. You have somebody in the workplace who is helping connect you to all those unwritten rules that are part of everybody's workplace, so that you can navigate those and have success there."
At the end of the apprenticeship, says Colborn, you have a connection to the company – your bosses and co-workers know you – and many people continue working for the company. It's one of the benefits that go with that apprenticeship experience.
We discuss how apprenticeships offer an alternative to a traditional college education, allowing people to earn a paycheck while learning on the job with a mentor. We also look at the other occupations beyond construction and the other skilled trades that are now using apprenticeships to develop their workforce, jobs like nursing and accounting.
Colborn also talks about how, despite progress, the U.S. continues to lag behind other countries in the number of people in apprenticeships. He says there is an opportunity to expand use of the training model and explains how. He adds that community colleges play an important role in connecting employers to this undeveloped talent.
You can listen to the entire conversation here, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find our podcasts on the Work in Progress YouTube channel.
Episode 348: John Colborn, executive director, Apprenticeships for AmericaHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNationProducer: Larry BuhlTheme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode hereWork in Progress Podcast: Catch up on previous episodes here -
In this episode of the Work in Progress podcast, Wendy Chun-Hoon, director of the Women's Bureau at the U.S. Department of Labor, joins me to discuss the progress the century-old bureau has made when it comes to creating equality, fairness, and safety for women in the workforce.
While more women than ever before are working, many still face lower wages than their male counterparts, sexual harassment, and lack of support around childcare and family care. Chun-Hoon describes herself as a longtime advocate for women in the workforce. She says she feels the Bureau has made many strides, but there is still much work to be done.
There are more than 79 million women in the workforce, but in some fields they're still underrepresented in in-demand fields that pay well and overrepresented in jobs that pay less.
Here's one example: the demand for both home health care workers and software developments are both growing. Women make up just 18.6% of all software developer jobs which have a median annual salary of $132,270. In contrast, nearly 88% of home health care workers are women. Those jobs have a median annual salary of $33,530. Chun-Hoon shares what the current administration and past administrations to address that imbalance.
We also discuss the critical issue of childcare for working women and government-wide efforts to ensure women have the support they need for caring for their children so they can remain a part of the workforce or join the workforce. Also in the podcast, we talk about the creation of the Gender Policy Council which not only addresses the wage and childcare issues, but also addresses gender-based violence for women in the workforce.
In summing up her time in office, which ends January 20, Chun-Hoon tells me, "I've seen breakthroughs that I wasn't expecting. I've seen some disappointments. I know that the Women's Bureau is also going to keep up that fight to really serve its enduring mission and the legacy that the Women's Bureau is, which is to represent the needs of working women."
You can listen to the entire conversation here, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find our podcasts on the Work in Progress YouTube channel.
Episode 347: Wendy Chun-Hoon, director, Women's Bureau, U.S. Department of LaborHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNationProducer: Larry BuhlTheme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode hereWork in Progress Podcast: Catch up on previous episodes here -
In this episode of Work in Progress, we check in from CES 2025 in Las Vegas, "the world's largest tech event." Guest Gary Shapiro, Consumer Technology Association (CTA) CEO and vice chairman, says AI remains the buzz word at this year's CES and he discusses the impact artificial intelligence and other emerging tech will continue to have on the workforce.
"AI has been around for many, many, many years. It flies 95% of the flights we take on airplanes. What changed a little over a year and a half ago was this shift to ChatGPT where anyone with a computer could actually use generative AI that could learn from databases, so the potential is huge," says Shapiro.
He says this evolution of AI is being rapidly adapted into all industries, from manufacturing to health care to marketing. For workers, this means some tasks will be automated.
"A lot of companies jumped on it and they figured out that a lot of the reports they pay a lot of people to do could be written in a matter of hours with just some simple programming and databases, and you'll get analysis if you fed in the prior reports."
But, Shapiro adds, AI is also creating new opportunities for creativity and innovation and you can see it in products on display at CES.
"Those kinds of things are changing the workforce and what some people do, and it's freed them up to do other higher-level things rather than prepare similar reports all the time."
My conversation with Shapiro also explores the importance of preparing the American workforce for these technological changes through STEM education, workforce development programs, and policies that enable alternative pathways to careers beyond traditional four-year college degrees.
Shapiro emphasizes the need to balance regulating AI while not stifling innovation that can improve people's lives.
"I'm excited about AI, but I also understand legitimate concerns. There is a natural fear that we have as human beings when things change. But things are always changing, and that's always been the case. What's made humans survive is our adaptability to new situations. We keep improving."
In the podcast, Shapiro highlights some of the other tech innovation you can see at CES and its role in our lives and workplace.
You can listen to the entire conversation here, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find our podcasts on the Work in Progress YouTube channel.
Episode 346: Gary Shapiro, CEO and vice chairman, Consumer Technology AssociationHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNationProducer: Larry BuhlTheme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode hereWork in Progress Podcast: Catch up on previous episodes here -
In this episode of Work in Progress, Joshua Wright, EVP of Growth for Lightcast, discusses The Rising Storm, the labor research group's forecast of a massive labor shortage over the next eight years and how we can fix the problem before it hurts the economy.
According the Lightcast report, the workforce will face a labor shortage of six million workers between now and 2032, the largest shortage in our country's history.
Wright says the it is being driven by the retirement of the baby boomer generation, declining birth rates, and reduced participation in the prime-age workforce. But, he adds, while there is no silver bullet, there are ways we can solve the problem by acting now.
It comes down, Wright says, to taking a closer look at the way we educate and train people for the workforce.
"I think fundamentally this is an opportunity. It is a challenge, but it's also an opportunity to restructure and rethink the systems that were developed. We're already seeing states do this, creating new workforce and education offices, or putting those two together and thinking of, 'How do we transform our education and workforce systems?'"
He goes into details on those solutions for developing more workforce programs to upskill and retain existing workers. Wright says employers play a key role in this strategy, as do the education institutions and local and state governments.
In the podcast, Wright also explains how technology can help speed up these solutions and he addresses the role immigration has always played, and should continue to play, in our labor force.
You can listen to the entire conversation here, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find our podcasts on the Work in Progress YouTube channel.
Episode 345: Joshua Wright, EVP of Growth, LightcastHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNationProducer: Larry BuhlTheme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode hereWork in Progress Podcast: Catch up on previous episodes here -
In this episode of the Work in Progress podcast, GitLab Foundation president & CEO Ellie Bertani joins me to discuss whether AI will eliminate jobs or will AI unlock economic opportunity for workers and the human potential in all of us?
The impact of AI on workers and business was a big part of the conversation at the Human Potential Summit in Denver earlier this fall.
GitLab Foundation is on a mission to increase lifetime earnings for people through education, training and access to opportunities, says Bertani.
When it comes to AI, the organization is looking at funding projects that can make a positive impact on the workforce and help workers thrive in today's economy.
It is committed to unlocking access to new, high-paying roles in underserved communities. From AI-driven job-matching platforms for the Navajo Nation to smarter systems that help nonprofits maximize impact, GitLab’s approach aims to make AI work for people, not against them.
In the podcast, Bertani discusses common mistakes organizations make with AI, how to avoid them, and why clarity of purpose is essential when deploying AI solutions.
You can listen to the entire conversation here, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find our podcasts on the Work in Progress YouTube channel.
The conversation was part of the WorkingNation media partnership with the Human Potential Summit.
Episode 344: Ellie Bertani, president & CEO, GitLab FoundationHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNationProducer: Larry BuhlTheme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode hereWork in Progress Podcast: Catch up on previous episodes here -
How do you fix the disconnect between work and learning? In this episode of Work in Progress, I'm joined by Taylor McLemore, entrepreneur and founder of the Human Potential Summit, and Ryan Stowers, senior vice president of Stand Together and the executive director of the Charles Koch Foundation, organizations that were founding sponsors of the summit.
In this conversation from the Human Potential Summit, held in Denver this fall, McLemore and Stowers share their concerns about the state of our current work and learning systems. McLemore describes it as more broken than functional and says education and careers have become disconnected. Stowers agrees, adding that we need to address this disconnect now in order to unleash the human potential in everyone.
Both agree it is crucial for economic mobility, democracy, and global competitiveness.
In the podcast, we talk about the role employers must play in fixing the system, including a deeper investment in training and developing the workforce. Helping people develop their human potential and find purpose and dignity in their work is also an imperative for the society.
You can listen to the entire conversation here, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find our podcasts on the Work in Progress YouTube channel.
Episode 343: Taylor McLemore, Human Potential Summit, and Ryan Stowers, Stand TogetherHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNationProducer: Larry BuhlTheme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode hereWork in Progress Podcast: Catch up on previous episodes here -
In this episode of Work in Progress, Katy Knight, executive director and president of Siegel Family Endowment, and Allison Scott, CEO of Kapor Foundation, discuss the underrepresentation of women and people of color in the high-tech jobs and what to do about it.
High-tech jobs include software engineering, data science, and other technical roles, but it's not just the pure tech companies that are hiring. Companies across all industries – banking, health care, education, manufacturing, and others – are in need of workers with good tech skills.
Data shows that Blacks, Hispanics, and women are underrepresented in those jobs.
Women make up less than 25% of the overall tech force, with Hispanics representing 9% and Blacks making up 7%. This lack of diversity is even worse at the highest levels of tech.
Barriers to entry and advancement in tech careers include biases in hiring and promotion, lack of mentorship and social capital, and the need for more visibility of non-traditional tech career pathways.
Knight and Scott advocate addressing the problem early, well before someone is ready to join the workforce.
Here is some of what they tell me.
Allison Scott
"The global we has not done a good enough job in articulating the variety of careers and the career pathways, both into what we think of as traditional big tech companies, but also startup companies. Also more traditional financial, the big financial industry, all of those different pathways that still, even medicine, I think we need to do a better job of creating visibility to a variety of different careers.
"One way that we like to articulate the problem is through a leaky tech pipeline metaphor. Only about 57% of high schools across the country offer computer science courses. So, you're automatically restricting the ability of about half of our students to even pursue a course to potentially gain interest or the skills needed to go on to pursue computer science and higher education."
Katy Knight
"Given the explosion of interest in computer science and interest in tech jobs, the number of applicants to CS programs at undergraduate institutions has skyrocketed. So, as the barrier to entry there gets higher because everyone wants to do it, the admissions offices are looking for students who seem most adequately prepared."
"Those students who are at the (K-12) schools where they have access to CS courses, who have taken AP CS, are going to be better candidates and better prepared, even when they are not necessarily any more skilled or smarter than a student who hasn't had that access.
"It's just with the pool so big and so deep, there are just certain impediments that come up because you've got to create some gates. The admissions officer can only do but so many things."
Many Avenues to Increasing Diversity in High-Tech Careers
In the podcast, we discuss efforts to address the low representation for women, Blacks, and Hispanics in high-tech jobs, including some of the programs Siegel Family Endowment and Kapor Foundation – as philanthropic organizations – are funding.
You can listen to the entire conversation here, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find our podcasts on the Work in Progress YouTube channel.
Episode 342: Katy Knight, executive director & president, Siegel Family Endowment, and Allison Scott, CEO, Kapor FoundationHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNationProducer: Larry BuhlTheme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode hereWork in Progress Podcast: Catch up on previous episodes here -
In the final episode of the Work in Progress podcast series The Manufacturing Comeback, we look at how employers are recruiting and training veterans and women to fill jobs in the manufacturing industry.
Employers Anticipate a Surge in Hiring in Manufacturing
On my recent trip to Minneapolis for The Manufacturing Institute's Workforce Summit 2025, employers told me that there are a lot of new plants being built around the country, bringing jobs back to the states.
The work is more high-tech than in decades past, and employers are now competing with other industries that are also demanding skilled talent.
By one estimate from MI and Deloitte, manufacturing will need 3.8 million workers over the next eight years.
To meet that demand, they are actively recruiting military veterans and women, the latter being an underrepresented group in manufacturing.
Heroes MAKE America, Women MAKE America
In the podcast, you'll learn about two Manufacturing Institute initiatives – Heroes MAKE America and Women MAKE America.
You'll hear how Heroes MAKE America is working with the U.S. Department of Defense to prepare transitioning service members and their spouses for jobs in manufacturing. Once trained, the program is also making connections to employers who are hiring.
The Women MAKE America initiative is working to add more women to the industry. Right now, just about 30% of all manufacturing employees are women. You'll hear how they are trying to significantly grow that number.
The Manufacturing Comeback
The recent uptick in manufacturing construction and hiring is fueled by the infusion of federal funding through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act enacted in 2021, the CHIPS and Science Act enacted in 2022, and private funding.
To better understand how the manufacturing comeback is reshaping the workforce, I speak with Gardner Carrick, chief program officer for The Manufacturing Institute, which is helping employers figure out how to build a strong talent pipeline. .
This three-part podcast series is a robust conversation about an industry that is once again looking for workers.
You can listen to the entire conversation here, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find our podcasts on the Work in Progress YouTube channel.
This series is made possible through support from The Manufacturing Institute. As a nonprofit journalism organization, WorkingNation partners and collaborates with outside organizations to make possible our mission of telling stories about solutions to today's workforce issues. All editorial decisions on this series were made independently of our supporter.
Episode 341: The Manufacturing Comeback: Recruiting, Training, and Retaining Women and VeteransHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNationProducer: Larry BuhlTheme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode hereWork in Progress Podcast: Catch up on previous episodes here -
This is Episode Two of The Manufacturing Comeback, a three-part Work in Progress podcast series. The series takes you inside the surge in hiring in the manufacturing industry. In this episode, we look at how small manufacturers are recruiting and training workers.
Small Companies are Looking for Talent
On my recent trip to Minneapolis for The Manufacturing Institute's Workforce Summit 2025, I sat down with leaders from several small companies, including Ketchie Precision Machining Solutions and Acutec Precision Aerospace, to learn how they are meeting their growing demand for talent.
They tell me that they need a highly-skilled workforce with technical, problem-solving, and soft skills to operate advance equipment. They also point out that they are struggling to compete with larger companies to attract that talent.
In the podcast, you'll learn about paid internships, apprenticeships, and other recruiting and training initiatives. You'll also hear from local colleges and how they are helping meet the hiring surge.
The Manufacturing Comeback
The recent uptick in manufacturing construction and hiring is fueled by the infusion of federal funding through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act enacted in 2021, the CHIPS and Science Act enacted in 2022, and private funding.
To better understand how the manufacturing comeback is reshaping the workforce, I speak with Gardner Carrick, chief program officer for The Manufacturing Institute, which is helping employers figure out how to build a strong talent pipeline. .
This three-part podcast series is a robust conversation about an industry that is once again looking for workers.
Next week, in Episode Three, we conclude the series with a conversation around how large and small employers are tapping into underrepresented talent to fill jobs.
You can listen to the entire conversation here, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find our podcasts on the Work in Progress YouTube channel.
This series is made possible through support from The Manufacturing Institute. As a nonprofit journalism organization, WorkingNation partners and collaborates with outside organizations to make possible our mission of telling stories about solutions to today's workforce issues. All editorial decisions on this series were made independently of our supporter.
Episode 340: The Manufacturing Comeback: Small Employers are Hiring in Your TownHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNationProducer: Larry BuhlTheme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode hereWork in Progress Podcast: Catch up on previous episodes here -
In this episode of the Work in Progress podcast, we begin a three-part series examining the manufacturing comeback in the United States, the resulting surge in job creation, and the types of skills workers need to get those jobs.
In the series, we explore how the nation's employers are finding, training, and retraining the talent to fill as many as 3.8 million jobs over the next eight years. Manufacturers say they are already having trouble filling those jobs.
Episode One of The Manufacturing Comeback focuses on how large employers are addressing the shortage of skilled talent.
Building a Talent Pipeline
I recently traveled to Minneapolis to attend The Manufacturing Institute's Workforce Summit 2025. There I spoke with Mark Rayfield, CEO of Saint-Gobain North America and CertainTeed, and with Paul Myles, senior manager of Government Workforce Development and Training Programs at Magna International.
In the podcast, Rayfield and Myles discuss how while the demand for manufacturing jobs in America is surging, finding skilled talent to fill these roles is a growing challenge. Unlike manufacturing jobs of the past, these jobs are often tech-focused. That means manufacturing employers are competing with other industries that are also looking for a tech-skilled workforce.
We discuss innovative recruitment methods, effective partnerships with educational institutions, and creating career pathways for people from all backgrounds.
Behind the Manufacturing Resurgence
The recent surge of manufacturing construction and hiring is being fueled by the infusion of federal funding through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act enacted in 2021, the CHIPS and Science Act enacted in 2022, and private funding.
To better understand how the manufacturing comeback is reshaping the workforce, I speak with Gardner Carrick, chief program officer for The Manufacturing Institute, which is helping employers figure out how to build a strong talent pipeline. Also joining this part of the conversation is Yustina Saleh, managing director of Workforce Innovation for The Burning Glass Institute.
Importantly, we look at the ebbs and flows of manufacturing hiring and how jobs have changed over the past several decades. We also examine why it has become more difficult to find workers interested in manufacturing careers, despite the fact that they are often good-paying jobs.
You can listen to the entire conversation here, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find our podcasts on the Work in Progress YouTube channel.
The Manufacturing Comeback
This three-part podcast series is a robust conversation about an industry that is once again looking for workers.
Next week, in Episode Two, we turn our attention to how smaller manufacturers are attempting to find and train new workers.
This series is made possible through support from The Manufacturing Institute. As a nonprofit journalism organization, WorkingNation partners and collaborates with outside organizations to make possible our mission of telling stories about solutions to today's workforce issues. All editorial decisions on this series were made independently of our supporter.
Episode 339: The Manufacturing Comeback: How Large Employers are Sourcing TalentHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNationProducer: Larry BuhlTheme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode hereWork in Progress Podcast: Catch up on previous episodes here -
In this episode of Work in Progress, I am joined by two leaders of the U.S. Coast Guard Career Investment Division, Chief Stephen Keck and Deputy Chief Christopher Cruz. We take a look at how the Coast Guard is preparing its service members for the vital jobs they do in active service to the country and giving them the training, credentials, and degrees they need to succeed in the civilian workforce, including in critical national security roles.Transitioning from active military duty to a civilian career can be one of the most stressful times of your life according to today's guests. Fortunately, there are people in every branch of the military to help prepare service members for that big step. Both Keck and Cruz are veterans and both understand that service members learn remarkable skills while serving their country, skills that are vital to our nation's security. They also know that sometimes it's helpful to have a degree or industry-recognized credentials as they make that transition from active duty to veteran.In the podcast, we discuss the training that the U.S. Coast Guard provides for active duty service men and women. They also explain how those Coast Guard Sentinels can get credit through civilian industry-recognized credentials for those military jobs. For example, merchant mariner is a national security role that Coast Guard veterans are highly-qualified for and the program Keck and Cruz run make it easier for those veterans to qualify for those jobs.We also talk about other credentialing opportunities, two- and four-year college, and the durable skills a veteran leaves the military with.You can listen to the entire conversation here, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find our podcasts on the Work in Progress YouTube channel.Episode 338: Stephen Keck, Chief, U.S. Coast Guard Career Investment Division; Christopher Cruz, Deputy Chief, U.S. Coast Guard Career Investment DivisionHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNationProducer: Larry BuhlTheme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode hereWork in Progress Podcast: Catch up on previous episodes here
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In this episode of the Work in Progress podcast, I'm joined by Taj Eldridge, managing director of Jobs for the Future (JFF), to discuss the growing opportunity for good-paying climate-resilient jobs and for entrepreneurs who want to combine enterprise and purpose.
The climate-resilient industry, says Eldridge, is still in an "adolescent phase" but is estimated to be valued at $5 trillion globally.
Emerging technologies and entrepreneurial activity is growing, due to federal, state, and local initiatives and funding, as well as corporate sustainability directives.
In addition to traditional green jobs such as those in clean energy, climate-resilient jobs can be found in all industries, creating career opportunities with family-sustaining wages and benefits.
This is attracting workers and jobseekers who are looking for good jobs that give them a sense of purpose.
Eldridge and I discuss the job-creating initiative CREST, short for Climate-Resilient Employees for a Sustainable Tomorrow.
The goal of the initiative funded by Ares Charitable Foundation is to train and place 25,000 Americans in quality green jobs, while also supporting entrepreneurial ventures in climate tech.
In the podcast, we take a closer look at some of those start-ups in the CREST Entrepreneur-in-Resident program and how they are working to make their communities more climate-resilient while creating pathways to long-term careers.
You can listen to the entire conversation here, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find our podcasts on the Work in Progress YouTube channel.
Episode 337: Taj Eldridge, Jobs for the Future (JFF) managing directorHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNationProducer: Larry BuhlTheme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode hereWork in Progress Podcast: Catch up on previous episodes here -
In this episode of Work in Progress, I am joined by Chike Aguh, senior advisor to The Project on Workforce at Harvard University and the former Chief Innovation Officer for the Biden Administration. He's also a member of the WorkingNation Advisory Board. We sat down to discuss the impact of AI and tech innovation on the workforce, particularly midcareer and older workers, at the Equity Summit 2024 in Washington, a collaboration between CWI Labs, Center for Workforce Inclusion, and WorkingNation.
Sometimes it feels like technology is moving so fast that many of us are at risk of being left behind.
The U.S. economy is in need of workers right now, with 10 job openings for every eight people looking for work. Some employers say they are struggling to find workers with the right tech skills and timeless interpersonal skills.
At the Equity Summit, Aguh and I discussed ways to ensure that midcareer and older worker have access to opportunities in today's labor market, in hiring, job retention, and reskilling. Aguh talked about how technology can't replace everyone but tech innovations such as AI could exacerbate existing inequities for marginalized older workers, including older workers of color.
He offered up ideas on how employers can utilize the talents of older workers, rather than buying into biases and outdated assumptions about their abilities. Aguh offered specific strategies employers could use to help upskilled and integrate their workers into the workforce to help solve their labor shortage.
You can listen to the full podcast here, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find the podcast our the Work in Progress YouTube channel.
Episode 336: Chike Aguh, Senior Advisor, The Project on Workforce at Harvard UniversityHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNationProducer: Larry BuhlTheme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode hereWork in Progress Podcast: Catch up on previous episodes here -
In this episode of Work in Progress, Frankie Miranda, president and CEO of the Hispanic Federation, and Mauricio Garcia, senior VP of programs for UnidosUS join me to discuss the digital divide that is threatening to create further barriers to family-sustaining jobs for Latinos and Hispanics.
You've probably heard about the digital gap or digital divide in the U.S. For U.S. Latinos that gap is significant. According to the Pew Research Center, 80% of whites are connected to broadband internet while only 65% of Latinos are. And Latinos may get less encouragement to seek digital training or jobs requiring digital skills.
That digital disparity means Latinos as a group face more challenges when job-seeking. Without a high level of digital skills, Latinos and others are increasingly shut out of career opportunities.
As Latinos are set to drive nearly 80% of workforce growth by 2030, closing the digital divide is not just a social priority, it’s an economic imperative.
I spoke with Miranda and Garcia at the JFF Horizons conference in Washington, D.C., in July. We discussed how community-based organizations, upskilling programs, and policy initiatives are working to bridge the gap and empower the Latino workforce.
You can listen to the entire conversation here, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find it on the Work in Progress YouTube channel.
Episode 335: Frankie Miranda, president & CEO, Hispanic Federation, and Mauricio Garcia, SVP of programs, UnidosUSHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNationProducer: Larry BuhlTheme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode hereWork in Progress Podcast: Catch up on previous episodes here - Laat meer zien
