We recently hosted the Talent Forward summit to wrap up our Fast Forward programming in 2022. Leaders from business, government, nonprofits, and education shared their insights and predictions about the future of talent.
We tackled big questions including: How do we address the worker shortage crisis? What big investments are needed to build a stronger workforce? How can you and your business stay ahead of the curve?
Keep reading to learn more about what our speakers covered and the key workforce issues your business needs to understand in 2023 and beyond.
Building the Workforce of the Future
To kick off the summit, U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Suzanne P. Clark shared opening remarks highlighting the importance of doing the work now to improve our education system and modernize the workforce.
Clark noted that the bottom line is we need more people. Improving immigration policy, childcare access, and second-chance hiring will help expand our workforce. Furthermore, data is critical to inform our workforce decisions. Take a deep dive into reskilling and upskilling by exploring our new Data Deep Dive: Upskilling and Reskilling Our Workforce from the U.S. Chamber and U.S. Chamber Foundation’s America Works Initiative.
“We must start with the things that can get done. And we must commit to ensuring they do.” – Suzanne P. Clark, President and CEO, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Tackling the Worker Shortage Crisis
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation President Carolyn Cawley interviewed Hilton’s Laura Fuentes about her insights on building a fully human experience grounded in purpose, inclusion, and a sense of belonging for over 400,000 employees across the world.
HR Dive featured this discussion and noted key takeaways on recruiting, learning, and more. Read “Hilton’s CHRO on how purpose drives the company’s HR strategy” here.
“Our approach to talent is shared and transcends those geographic borders.” – Laura Fuentes, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, Hilton
Historic Investment in Infrastructure
U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh shared updates on the increase in jobs and decrease in unemployment driving our economy forward. Thanks to the bipartisan infrastructure law, $183 billion in funding has been announced so far to “strengthen communities and unlock economic development.” His remarks also covered the Good Jobs Initiative, apprenticeships, and more.
“The fact is, we need a workforce that is strong and skilled, local and diverse, empowered and inclusive.” – The Honorable Martin J. Walsh, Secretary, U.S. Department of Labor
Strengthening American Competitiveness
Intel’s Christy Pambianchi and Qualcomm’s John Smee, Ph.D., discussed how workforce development can drive innovation in a conversation led by American Enterprise Institute’s John Bailey. A focus of this discussion was the CHIPS and Science Act and its role in the future of work. Private-public partnerships like this are key in building the talent pipeline.
"It's really about working together to have that innovation focus to really make sure that we're creating value from market leadership and recognizing that there really is a global talent race." – John Smee, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Engineering, Qualcomm
Untapped Talent
Upwardly Global’s Jina Krause-Vilmar hosted a panel with Tent’s Scarlet Cronin, Northgate Gonzalez Markets’ Cathy Frial, and Cargill’s Daphne Means. These experts shared their insights and experiences in how hiring refugees and immigrants helps businesses, addresses labor shortages, and expands access to qualified, and oftentimes overlooked, candidates.
"The idea is to provide practical tools and tips for refugees as they are looking to understand the U.S. job market." – Scarlet Cronin, Vice President, Americas & Global Strategy, Tent
Culture in the New World of Work
HiBob Co-Founder and CEO Ronni Zehavi’s remarks on the future of work focused on complexity, flexibility, and culture. He analyzed the three key components of culture, including trust, transparency, and teamwork.
“If there is one word that I need to choose that explains the future of work and how to solve the complexity, it is all about flexibility.” – Ronni Zehavi, Co-Founder and CEO, HiBob
Tomorrow’s Workforce is in Middle School Today
U.S. Chamber Foundation’s Cheryl Oldham spoke with Brown University’s Emily Oster, Ph.D., and Virginia Secretary of Education Aimee Rogstad Guidera about the staggering decline in recent NAEP scores and what must be done to help students recover the loss in learning. They pointed out that the data is important to understand, especially when considering how education impacts our future workforce.
"Getting focused on the idea of data as a tool for recovery, not data as a way to blame, but data as a tool for moving forward, that is where our eyes and ears need to be now." – Emily Oster, Ph.D., Professor of Economics, Brown University
Maximizing Data to Fill Jobs and Upskill Workers
This panel featured business leaders, including COABE’s Sharon Bonney, Pearson’s Jonathan Finkelstein, Tyson Foods’ Anson Green, and IBM’s Lydia Logan. World Education Inc.’s Priyanka Sharma hosted the engaging discussion on strategies around upskilling, training, education, and more. As Finkelstein noted, everyone is energized by employers recognizing the power of possibility in creating and reinventing yourself, even within an existing work environment or for boomerang employees. For example, IBM is fostering this through a groundbreaking commitment to provide 30 million people around the world with new skills needed for jobs by 2030.
"We really wanted to honor that non-direct path that most people are taking and provide an opportunity for them to be able to upskill or reskill on their own and in a way that makes sense for them." – Lydia Logan, Vice President, Global Education and Workforce Development, IBM
Thank you to HiBob, COABE, Pearson, and IBM for sponsoring these engaging discussions about the future of work.
We hope you’ll share this content and takeaways with your colleagues and networks. Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for updates on future Fast Forward programming.
