Based on the most recent BLS report, the job market remains strong – more than 517,000 jobs added in January with a 3.4% unemployment rate, the lowest since 1969.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t barriers for job seekers and workers to finding and retaining family-sustaining work in an ever-changing workplace.
Employers’ needs change. Skills needed in the workforce change.
Since our founding in 2016, we’ve assembled a distinguished and respected panel of thought leaders in business, education, policy, and nonprofits to help keep us at the forefront of the conversation around solutions to these challenges in our labor market.
To kick off the year, we asked our Advisory Board to share their thoughts on The Future of Work 2023.
You Don’t Want to Miss These Solutions
One month into the new year, and we’ve already taken a look at some interesting programs and initiatives design to level the playing field and putt people to work in good jobs. Here’s a sampling.
My colleague Laura Aka, senior editorial producer, recently spoke with David L. Kim, president and CEO of the National Asian Pacific Center on Aging about the lack of good data on the AAPI community when it comes to jobs, equity, and inclusion. They also talked about at a NAPCA program that places older AAPI workers in jobs with the federal government. Read the story here.
The demand for cybersecurity workers is so strong, one trade organization is offering free training and free testing for cyber certificates for the first one million qualified candidates. What does qualified mean in this context? It means you are new to the industry and don’t already have a certificate. It’s opening lots of doors. Read the story here.
A Philadelphia program is sparking interest in tech jobs in kids as young as eight through a coding, entrepreneurship, and mentorship program. Read the story here.
Fresno City College is training much-needed construction workers by building tiny houses in their community. Read the story here.
Of course, you can see all our articles, videos, and podcasts at our website: www.workingnation.org.
What Happens in Vegas Actually Doesn’t Stay in Vegas
It’s been a month already since my first work trip of 2023 to the big Consumer Electronics Show – CES – in Las Vegas. CES fills the city’s giant convention center with literally tens-of-thousands of cool new tech products that will be making their way into your homes, offices, and businesses later this year and next.
It is always fun to see this innovation in person, but I was there to talk about jobs.
Someone needs to create, program, repair, and operate this new tech. Even if it’s a so-called autonomous vehicle, it’s not building itself!
So, what kinds of skills are needed now and in the near future in industry, infrastructure, transportation, manufacturing, agriculture, and health care? I spoke in-depth about work in 2023 and beyond with a dozen leaders, including Siemens CEO Barbara Humpton, Ford Motor workforce development leader Laura Demarse, John Deere chief people officer Felecia Pryor, and Digital Medicine Society CEO Jennifer Goldsack.
Listen in on these conversations and more on the Work in Progress podcast.
Next Stop: Austin
SXSW EDU is just four weeks away and we’re once again proud to be a media partner with the conference. We’ve got a lot planned for our four days in Austin!
This year, we continue our look at increasing access and opportunities for people with disabilities in the workforce. Our president Jane Oates is moderating a panel discussion which will feature Kathy Martinez of Expedia Group, Claudia Gordon of T-Mobile, and Hiren Shukla of EY.
I’ll be moderating a panel on how we can break down the invisible barrier to economic mobility – the lack of a four-year degree. The conversation comes out of the work our friends at Opportunity@Work started with the HireSTARs and Tear Down the Paper Ceiling campaigns.
Joining me in the discussion are Bridgette Gray of Opportunity@Work, Patti Constantakis of Walmart.org, and Kenny Nguyen of ThreeSixtyEight
Jane is doing double duty on the ground in Texas.
She’ll be joining Scott Pulsipher of Western Governors University, Michael Hansen of Cengage Group, and David Barnes of IBM in a discussion of how changes in some current education policies could help quickly expand education access to millions of learners.
We’ll also be interviewing thought leaders at SXSW EDU about the latest trends in education, training, and workforce development for our series WorkingNation Overheard. Look for the interviews on social media beginning March 7 at #WorkingNationOverheard and #SXSWEDU2023.
Coming Soon From WorkingNation
Last year, our video production team lead by executive producers Melissa Panzer and Joan Lynch, who is also our chief content and programming officer, released more than 80 original video stories which have been viewed 20 million times.
We can’t wait to share their newest series: How to Make Money Doing What You Love. The title says it all. Who says work can’t be fun? The three-part series premiers soon.
Watch this short preview to see what’s ahead.
Watch This Space
Our fabulous WorkingNation team – east coast and west coast – met in early January to discuss what’s ahead for 2023, which is a lot!
It was a fantastic gathering of hard-working, creative, and thoughtful teammates all committed to continuing our mission of bringing you the most up-to-date information, trends, and programs helping to put people to work in good jobs. I’m so proud to be a part of this team.
We wrapped up the two-day strategy session with an early birthday celebration for our fearless leader – founder and CEO Art Bilger.
Happy birthday, Art!
One More Thing…
The waiting is over! WorkingNation is now on TikTok. Check us out here.
Until next time,
