The Future of Work is Now ...

In order to create a brighter future of work as we rebuild America, we need to take a long and hard look at what’s broken, what’s always been broken, and how to fix it.

Before the pandemic “the rules” of the U.S. job market were broken for half of Americans, in ways that many people setting the rules barely noticed. Incentives were a problem. (They still are.) Business models were a problem. (They still are.) Institutions were a problem. (They still are.)

Some of what needs fixing will be very hard. But some of what needs fixing is not so hard. Hire for people’s skills, not their resumes. Invest in diverse learning-to-earning pathways. Make real informed career guidance available for all, not only in school but throughout our working lives.

In that spirit, in the latest Opportunity@Work “Opportunity Wrap,” Martin Evelyn highlights three important approaches that can help us achieve a more equitable present and future of work—an argument for employers to adopt stackable credentials; a case for organizations to leverage the experiences of frontline workers to train the workers for the future; and an examination of how workforce development can better support diversity: 

• Challenging a false dichotomy of college vs. short courses, Allison Salisbury of Guild Education recommends organizations embrace stackable credentials, which create clear pathways that allow workers to build from a short-term credential to a bachelor’s degree; as an alternative to solely investing in degrees or short-term training programs for talent. buff.ly/2OrDl2u
• JD Dillon argues that to prepare companies for the uncertain future of work, Learning & Development (“L&D”) executives should learn from the experiences of frontline workers, nearly half of whom had to rapidly learn new skills. He recommends L&D professionals adopt agile skill-based training to keep pace with continued disruption. buff.ly/3uYRp4p
• Alongside its new Racial Equity Framework for Workforce Development Funders, Workforce Matters considers the ways philanthropy struggles with diversity within their organizations, especially in leadership positions. The report calls on philanthropic institutions to re-examine their approach to diversity and to better disrupt the systemic racism embedded in their practices. buff.ly/3sNv87E

Part of the work ahead is to translate promising approaches into active building blocks of a more equitable labor market, in which workers' lifelong learning consistently leads to higher earnings.

All the best,

Byron