November 8, 2023
Perspective: The 4-Year Dividing Line
New survey shows the compounding benefits of college degrees. Here’s how to help those without degrees to catch up When it comes to jobs and work, the past three years have been among the most tumultuous in decades. From mass layoffs in the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic to surging reemployment and wages as the country…
November 6, 2023
Upskilling from the Top
As artificial intelligence (AI) continues its rapid advance, upskilling is shifting from a luxury good to a necessity for almost all workers. Traditionally, upskilling efforts have focused on frontline and production staff. That approach is unlikely to work when it comes to AI. To reap the benefits of this technology, we need commitments at all…
November 3, 2023
The Biden AI Executive Order: Dark Brandon or Uncle Joe?
President Biden’s executive order this week on artificial intelligence (AI) brings to mind his split media personality, which consists of the avuncular “Uncle Joe” and the more Machiavellian “Dark Brandon.” This bifurcated political personality has the advantage of keeping his opponents guessing, but in the case of the EO, it creates a policy jumble that is going…
October 18, 2023
Vocation: A Cure for Burnout
In a recent article for The Atlantic, former AEI president Arthur Brooks makes the case that to prevent burnout at work we need to create “meaningful boundaries” between work and the rest of our lives. As usual, Brooks has excellent advice about how to navigate life’s trenches and stay motivated and happy. Yet there is one piece missing: encouraging reflection on what drives us, what makes us tick,…
August 28, 2023
Here’s a Kind of Job-Training Program That Works
JOB-TRAINING AND WORKFORCE-DEVELOPMENT programs have long been plagued by weak wage and job-persistence outcomes. Since the United States spends markedly less on these types of programs than do other developed nations, it’s reasonable to ask whether the weak outcomes are a function of the programs or the funding. Likely, it is a combination of both. The good…
June 22, 2023
System Error: Where Big Tech Went Wrong and How We Can Reboot
Event Summary On June 22, AEI’s Brent Orrell and Shane Tews were joined by Rob Reich of the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence and Jeremy M. Weinstein of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies to discuss System Error: Where Big Tech Went Wrong and How We Can Reboot (Harper Academic, 2021), a book…
March 31, 2023
AI and the Future of Work: Preparing the Workforce for an AI-Driven Economy
AI is best positioned to augment the workforce, not replace it. The U.S. Chamber’s Commission on Artificial Intelligence Competition, Inclusion, and Innovation report outlines recommendations for preparing the workforce for the continued integration of AI tools across our economy. To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of the “end of work” have been greatly exaggerated – more…
February 28, 2023
Workforce Futures Initiative: How Well Does the American Workforce System Work?
Event Summary On February 28, AEI’s Brent Orrell hosted an event commemorating the launch of the Workforce Futures Initiative (WFI) website. WFI has been an ongoing research effort among the American Enterprise Institute, the Brookings Institution, and the Harvard Kennedy School Malcom Weiner Center for Social Policy. The panelists of this event were the steering…
January 19, 2023
Labor Unions and the “Double-Helix” of America’s Workforce Development Future
The role of labor unions in the future of American workforce development depends largely on how we conceive of the needs and demands facing workers and the economy. Traditionally, we’ve thought of workforce development in terms of formal, technical skill development and the so-called “skills gap,” the difference between the credentials and skills our training…