A New Project Reimagines Workforce Policy in the Age of Disruption
The jobs of tomorrow are likely to look very different from the jobs of today. Thanks to artificial intelligence and other technologies, people can find careers as remote health care workers, urban farmers, data scientists and social media experts — careers we couldn’t have even imagined a decade or two ago. The same technological changes, along with globalization, have rendered some jobs obsolete, even as overall U.S. employment holds steady, and has changed the types of tasks and abilities required in countless other jobs as well. In this rapidly evolving economic environment, we cannot allow ourselves to become complacent:
Work and workplaces are changing rapidly, and that means workers will need to continually upgrading their knowledge and skills in order to keep pace.
In light of this, we must ask ourselves: What skills will people need to fully participate in the new economy? What policy or programmatic changes do we need to make to ensure people from all walks of life have access to needed skills?
To answer these questions, the National Governors Association’s Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) has partnered with FHI 360 and the Fab Foundation on Future Workforce Now: Reimagining Workforce Policy in the Age of Disruption. The18-month project will help states begin developing policy and practice responses to prepare for the workforce needs of the future. Future Workforce Now will include rigorous research and dialogue with leading thinkers, researchers and policymakers.
Future Workforce Now will explore in depth the technological disruptions and global forces that are shaping the future of work, workers and workplaces. What will these changes mean for education, training and state policy? What will be the most promising policy and practice responses that position states to prepare the workforce of the future?
Through a series of topical roundtables, Future Workforce Now will bring together leading researchers, tech innovators, employers, educators and state policymakers to share knowledge and expertise on the disruptive forces impacting workers and education and training systems. This knowledge will help map a path forward for state and local success. The roundtables will lead to a State Policy Forum for Action to share the accumulated knowledge and promising solutions from the roundtables. The convenings will engage state policy teams and assist them in framing policy and programmatic responses to address the needs of the future workforce. A toolkit will be released at the culmination of the project to guide future state action.
Governors are challenged to align education and workforce systems with the needs of their constituents and the broader economy. That challenge is only magnified by rapid changes in technology and their ripple effects through the economy. This project is designed to support governors in developing a future workforce that is prepared for the changes in work and workplaces, by helping them to bridge policy, incentives and systems for the participation and benefit of all.
Future Workforce Nowis supported by the Gates Foundation, Schmidt Futures and the Siegel Family Endowment. To learn more about Future Workforce Nowand how you can get involved, please contact Rachael Stephens at rstephens@nga.org.
Rachael Stephens is a senior policy analyst in Economic Opportunity Division at the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, where she advises states on the future of work, work-based learning strategies, occupational licensing reform and other workforce topics.
