The Council on Foreign Relations just issued a report entitled, "The Work Ahead: Machines, Skills, and U.S. Leadership in the Twenty-First Century." I've added it to my reading list since, refreshingly, it appears to offer practical, comprehensive solutions to one of the greatest challenges facing our nation.
That is, in the words of the task force leadership, how do we rebuild the links among work, opportunity, competitiveness, and economic security in the face of accelerating technological change? "These links are failing Americans right now," task force co-chair Penny Pritzker told us this morning in launching the report. No kidding.
Even optimists like me are sorely tested in wondering whether the U.S. would ever actually address these challenges systematically, let alone solve them. Understanding the future of the U.S. workforce means dealing with a complex, staggering array of interdependent issues from early childhood education, higher education, taxes, and immigration to apprentice programs, retraining, unemployment insurance, transportable job benefits in a gig economy, and broadband access. As with so many other matters these days, most of the intelligent progress being made on future workforce issues can be found in states and cities - thankfully. Pritzker praised Colorado's leadership, for example.
The task force reminded us of that which is unequivocally proven to be true; most job loss in our country owes to technology "gains" (mechanization, robots, networking, AI) as well as heightened competition from other nations. They reinforced the importance of competing and succeeding globally in these domains. Have you read the agenda for global AI dominance that China's President Xi has decreed? It's sobering and comes at a moment when we have already ceded leadership in both Asia-Pacific trade and the trillion-dollar green-energy market to China. Of course, focusing on growth technologies such AI, green engineering, and advanced manufacturing means that a leader actually understands these trends and does not prop up irretrievably dying or diminishing industries such as coal and traditional steel for political purposes. Yes, we need to help those who have lost jobs in these industries, but let's be clear that those jobs are never, ever returning to these shores.
Task force co-chair Governor John Engler (yes, I know) rightfully praised community colleges and especially the wonderful Eduardo Padrón at Miami Dade College this morning for "listening to the customer" and designing curricula that match talent to future careers. Of course, supporting community colleges means that a leader actually knows what they are in the first place. Oh right, there's that.
Suffice it to say that we have a great deal of work ahead to develop a new kind of future U.S. workforce. For the moment, we're dreadfully stalled at the highest levels of the U.S. government, but thankful that states, cities, businesses, and advocates are keeping us in the game and hopeful.
That is, in the words of the task force leadership, how do we rebuild the links among work, opportunity, competitiveness, and economic security in the face of accelerating technological change? "These links are failing Americans right now," task force co-chair Penny Pritzker told us this morning in launching the report. No kidding.
Even optimists like me are sorely tested in wondering whether the U.S. would ever actually address these challenges systematically, let alone solve them. Understanding the future of the U.S. workforce means dealing with a complex, staggering array of interdependent issues from early childhood education, higher education, taxes, and immigration to apprentice programs, retraining, unemployment insurance, transportable job benefits in a gig economy, and broadband access. As with so many other matters these days, most of the intelligent progress being made on future workforce issues can be found in states and cities - thankfully. Pritzker praised Colorado's leadership, for example.
The task force reminded us of that which is unequivocally proven to be true; most job loss in our country owes to technology "gains" (mechanization, robots, networking, AI) as well as heightened competition from other nations. They reinforced the importance of competing and succeeding globally in these domains. Have you read the agenda for global AI dominance that China's President Xi has decreed? It's sobering and comes at a moment when we have already ceded leadership in both Asia-Pacific trade and the trillion-dollar green-energy market to China. Of course, focusing on growth technologies such AI, green engineering, and advanced manufacturing means that a leader actually understands these trends and does not prop up irretrievably dying or diminishing industries such as coal and traditional steel for political purposes. Yes, we need to help those who have lost jobs in these industries, but let's be clear that those jobs are never, ever returning to these shores.
Task force co-chair Governor John Engler (yes, I know) rightfully praised community colleges and especially the wonderful Eduardo Padrón at Miami Dade College this morning for "listening to the customer" and designing curricula that match talent to future careers. Of course, supporting community colleges means that a leader actually knows what they are in the first place. Oh right, there's that.
Suffice it to say that we have a great deal of work ahead to develop a new kind of future U.S. workforce. For the moment, we're dreadfully stalled at the highest levels of the U.S. government, but thankful that states, cities, businesses, and advocates are keeping us in the game and hopeful.
Image courtesy of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.