It’s been a busy week for the WorkingNation team.
WGN Radio
Chief Content and Programming Officer Joan Lynch and Editor-in-Chief Ramona Schindelheim sat down with Justin Kaufmann of Extension 720 on WGN Radio in Chicago to talk about how changes in technology are changing the skills employers are looking for in their employees.
They also discussed how WorkingNation is using storytelling to highlight programs and initiatives that are helping reskill and train job seekers for jobs of the future.
You can listen to the entire interview on WGN.com.
Concordia Summit
President Jane Oates took part in a roundtable discussion on the future of work at the 2019 Concordia Summit in New York. Senior Service America President and CEO Gary Officer, ZipRecruiter labor economist Julia Pollak, and Steve Strongin, Head of Global Research for Goldman Sachs, rounded out the panel, which Ramona moderated.
Senior Service America, a nonprofit working to connect experienced Americans, especially low income and disadvantaged adults, with employers in all 50 states to ensure a vibrant, diverse, and productive workforce, hosted the discussion at Concordia.
“Senior Service America was thrilled to be joined by this group of experts,” said Officer. “Concordia is the largest forum of thought leaders and policy-makers alongside the UN General Assembly. A discussion of how public, private, and philanthropic organizations can collaborate to prepare all job seekers, especially underserved job seekers, for the changing nature of work is a critical topic both domestically and globally.”
CNBC.com
It’s getting harder to fill tech jobs, so employers are turning to job candidates with liberal arts degrees or no degrees at all, according to a new CNBC.com article.
The article examined some of the reasons for the tech worker shortage — and the impact on all workers — and called on Jane and WorkingNation Founder and CEO Art Bilger for their thoughts.
“The big technology companies are taking all the visa workers, and other companies who need tech help have to scramble,” said Jane Oates, president of WorkingNation, a nonprofit focused on the changing labor market. The number of skilled visa positions allowed by legislation is limited to 63,000 annually, she said, and “most corporations would tell you that should have gone up.” At the same time, “people are focused on building domestic talent,” she said.
“The demand is creating a really ripe environment for people who are in non-traditional majors, liberals arts majors who bring different aspects to the tech space,” said Art Bilger, founder and CEO of WorkingNation. He added that this also leads to a rise in more women and people of color in these roles.
