The explosion of artificial intelligence, combined with slowing growth in the labor force, has many companies reconsidering how they hire and develop workers. Where they once relied on colleges and universities for training, a growing number of companies are now looking in-house.
Investment in developing employees and would-be hires is becoming a key differentiator for companies, according to a new report from the Learning Society, a collaborative effort led out of the Stanford Center on Longevity. And that’s true even as AI adoption grows.
The Big Idea: The report authors interviewed 15 human resources executives from major firms, which ranged in size from Hubbell, an electric and utility product manufacturer with about 17K employees, to Walmart with more than 2M employees. The authors asked about four topics: the impact of AI and technology on work, skill building and talent development, supporting workers over longer working lives, and new partnerships between businesses and higher education.
For many years, employers relied on “just-in-time talent” for hiring needs, finding employees on the open market who were already trained—and often had degrees. Today, the conversation is changing, according to Eva Sage-Gavin, a co-author of the report and former senior HR executive at several companies, including Accenture, Gap Inc., and Disney Consumer Products.
“We’re moving from the cost of training debate to where do I find growth in innovation? What do I have in my own workforce?” Sage-Gavin says. “I can buy tech, I can use AI, but it’s the talent I have and how talent and technology interact that’s going to find my way to growth and competitiveness.”
Skills Take Center Stage
One of the report’s key findings is that the meaning and relevance of the four-year degree is changing as the pace of technological change increases. “A college degree is a measure of aptitude. It’s not necessarily a measure of success in a team-focused environment,” John Russell, chief technology officer at Dominion Energy, told the report authors.
Many companies named in the report say they are investing more heavily in entry-level workers. Hubbell has restructured its internship program to rotate interns every year for three years, so they’re essentially trained by the company and ready for a full-time role upon completion. They’ve even developed a high school program to gain interest from prospective employees earlier—a strategy that a third of the companies interviewed were using.
“In the old days, people would use a four-year degree or associate degree as a proxy for certain levels of human skill—communications, writing ability, ability to present, to work on a team,” Sage-Gavin says. “Now with the use of technology, we’re often seeing people saying that a four-year degree is not necessarily a proxy, and it’s not always required. Higher education needs to shift as quickly as employers are.”
Higher Ed’s Role: The Learning Society emphasizes the role of higher education in the future of work, but believes it should be more accessible and adaptable to learners’ needs at different stages of their careers. The report names some partnerships between employers and higher education as examples, including one between Wichita State University’s business school and Koch Inc. that created a microcredential pathway for adults without degrees.
The report also stresses the need for college degrees to be a shared investment between the worker and their employer.
The Race for AI—and Durable—Skills
Another key finding in the report is how AI is reshaping the workplace, but not necessarily in the ways many people think. The interviewees all said that AI is not eliminating jobs. Instead, it’s taking over parts of jobs and making traditional soft, or durable, skills even more important and competitive.
Susan Youngblood, a former chief HR officer and a consultant on AI and the future of the workforce, says liberal arts are making a comeback as AI takes over some of the technical skills that dominated the hiring landscape in recent years. AI literacy and durable skills like communication and conflict mitigation are top skills employers are searching for, according to LinkedIn data.
AI training is happening in small groups in person, online, and even at events like hackathons, Youngblood says. Some of the most effective training is happening informally, when someone at a company experiments on their own and shares what they found at a department meeting.
The Kicker: Despite the fear that many veteran workers may have about AI making their hard-earned skills obsolete, Youngblood says mid- to late-career workers actually have an edge: They are more likely to know when AI is hallucinating. But keeping up with the pace of change is crucial for workers of all ages.
“Every single employee has the option and the availability of that training,” Youngblood says. “I’m not sure if anybody has made it mandatory, but I know that there are definitely companies who have made it pretty compelling to do it.”