Episodes
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In this episode of the Work in Progress podcast, GitLab Foundation president & CEO Ellie Bertani joins me to discuss whether AI will eliminate jobs or will AI unlock economic opportunity for workers and the human potential in all of us?
The impact of AI on workers and business was a big part of the conversation at the Human Potential Summit in Denver earlier this fall.
GitLab Foundation is on a mission to increase lifetime earnings for people through education, training and access to opportunities, says Bertani.
When it comes to AI, the organization is looking at funding projects that can make a positive impact on the workforce and help workers thrive in today's economy.
It is committed to unlocking access to new, high-paying roles in underserved communities. From AI-driven job-matching platforms for the Navajo Nation to smarter systems that help nonprofits maximize impact, GitLab’s approach aims to make AI work for people, not against them.
In the podcast, Bertani discusses common mistakes organizations make with AI, how to avoid them, and why clarity of purpose is essential when deploying AI solutions.
You can listen to the entire conversation here, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find our podcasts on the Work in Progress YouTube channel.
The conversation was part of the WorkingNation media partnership with the Human Potential Summit.
Episode 344: Ellie Bertani, president & CEO, GitLab FoundationHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNationProducer: Larry BuhlTheme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode hereWork in Progress Podcast: Catch up on previous episodes here -
How do you fix the disconnect between work and learning? In this episode of Work in Progress, I'm joined by Taylor McLemore, entrepreneur and founder of the Human Potential Summit, and Ryan Stowers, senior vice president of Stand Together and the executive director of the Charles Koch Foundation, organizations that were founding sponsors of the summit.
In this conversation from the Human Potential Summit, held in Denver this fall, McLemore and Stowers share their concerns about the state of our current work and learning systems. McLemore describes it as more broken than functional and says education and careers have become disconnected. Stowers agrees, adding that we need to address this disconnect now in order to unleash the human potential in everyone.
Both agree it is crucial for economic mobility, democracy, and global competitiveness.
In the podcast, we talk about the role employers must play in fixing the system, including a deeper investment in training and developing the workforce. Helping people develop their human potential and find purpose and dignity in their work is also an imperative for the society.
You can listen to the entire conversation here, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find our podcasts on the Work in Progress YouTube channel.
Episode 343: Taylor McLemore, Human Potential Summit, and Ryan Stowers, Stand TogetherHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNationProducer: Larry BuhlTheme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode hereWork in Progress Podcast: Catch up on previous episodes here -
Missing episodes?
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In this episode of Work in Progress, Katy Knight, executive director and president of Siegel Family Endowment, and Allison Scott, CEO of Kapor Foundation, discuss the underrepresentation of women and people of color in the high-tech jobs and what to do about it.
High-tech jobs include software engineering, data science, and other technical roles, but it's not just the pure tech companies that are hiring. Companies across all industries – banking, health care, education, manufacturing, and others – are in need of workers with good tech skills.
Data shows that Blacks, Hispanics, and women are underrepresented in those jobs.
Women make up less than 25% of the overall tech force, with Hispanics representing 9% and Blacks making up 7%. This lack of diversity is even worse at the highest levels of tech.
Barriers to entry and advancement in tech careers include biases in hiring and promotion, lack of mentorship and social capital, and the need for more visibility of non-traditional tech career pathways.
Knight and Scott advocate addressing the problem early, well before someone is ready to join the workforce.
Here is some of what they tell me.
Allison Scott
"The global we has not done a good enough job in articulating the variety of careers and the career pathways, both into what we think of as traditional big tech companies, but also startup companies. Also more traditional financial, the big financial industry, all of those different pathways that still, even medicine, I think we need to do a better job of creating visibility to a variety of different careers.
"One way that we like to articulate the problem is through a leaky tech pipeline metaphor. Only about 57% of high schools across the country offer computer science courses. So, you're automatically restricting the ability of about half of our students to even pursue a course to potentially gain interest or the skills needed to go on to pursue computer science and higher education."
Katy Knight
"Given the explosion of interest in computer science and interest in tech jobs, the number of applicants to CS programs at undergraduate institutions has skyrocketed. So, as the barrier to entry there gets higher because everyone wants to do it, the admissions offices are looking for students who seem most adequately prepared."
"Those students who are at the (K-12) schools where they have access to CS courses, who have taken AP CS, are going to be better candidates and better prepared, even when they are not necessarily any more skilled or smarter than a student who hasn't had that access.
"It's just with the pool so big and so deep, there are just certain impediments that come up because you've got to create some gates. The admissions officer can only do but so many things."
Many Avenues to Increasing Diversity in High-Tech Careers
In the podcast, we discuss efforts to address the low representation for women, Blacks, and Hispanics in high-tech jobs, including some of the programs Siegel Family Endowment and Kapor Foundation – as philanthropic organizations – are funding.
You can listen to the entire conversation here, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find our podcasts on the Work in Progress YouTube channel.
Episode 342: Katy Knight, executive director & president, Siegel Family Endowment, and Allison Scott, CEO, Kapor FoundationHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNationProducer: Larry BuhlTheme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode hereWork in Progress Podcast: Catch up on previous episodes here -
In the final episode of the Work in Progress podcast series The Manufacturing Comeback, we look at how employers are recruiting and training veterans and women to fill jobs in the manufacturing industry.
Employers Anticipate a Surge in Hiring in Manufacturing
On my recent trip to Minneapolis for The Manufacturing Institute's Workforce Summit 2025, employers told me that there are a lot of new plants being built around the country, bringing jobs back to the states.
The work is more high-tech than in decades past, and employers are now competing with other industries that are also demanding skilled talent.
By one estimate from MI and Deloitte, manufacturing will need 3.8 million workers over the next eight years.
To meet that demand, they are actively recruiting military veterans and women, the latter being an underrepresented group in manufacturing.
Heroes MAKE America, Women MAKE America
In the podcast, you'll learn about two Manufacturing Institute initiatives – Heroes MAKE America and Women MAKE America.
You'll hear how Heroes MAKE America is working with the U.S. Department of Defense to prepare transitioning service members and their spouses for jobs in manufacturing. Once trained, the program is also making connections to employers who are hiring.
The Women MAKE America initiative is working to add more women to the industry. Right now, just about 30% of all manufacturing employees are women. You'll hear how they are trying to significantly grow that number.
The Manufacturing Comeback
The recent uptick in manufacturing construction and hiring is fueled by the infusion of federal funding through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act enacted in 2021, the CHIPS and Science Act enacted in 2022, and private funding.
To better understand how the manufacturing comeback is reshaping the workforce, I speak with Gardner Carrick, chief program officer for The Manufacturing Institute, which is helping employers figure out how to build a strong talent pipeline. .
This three-part podcast series is a robust conversation about an industry that is once again looking for workers.
You can listen to the entire conversation here, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find our podcasts on the Work in Progress YouTube channel.
This series is made possible through support from The Manufacturing Institute. As a nonprofit journalism organization, WorkingNation partners and collaborates with outside organizations to make possible our mission of telling stories about solutions to today's workforce issues. All editorial decisions on this series were made independently of our supporter.
Episode 341: The Manufacturing Comeback: Recruiting, Training, and Retaining Women and VeteransHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNationProducer: Larry BuhlTheme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode hereWork in Progress Podcast: Catch up on previous episodes here -
This is Episode Two of The Manufacturing Comeback, a three-part Work in Progress podcast series. The series takes you inside the surge in hiring in the manufacturing industry. In this episode, we look at how small manufacturers are recruiting and training workers.
Small Companies are Looking for Talent
On my recent trip to Minneapolis for The Manufacturing Institute's Workforce Summit 2025, I sat down with leaders from several small companies, including Ketchie Precision Machining Solutions and Acutec Precision Aerospace, to learn how they are meeting their growing demand for talent.
They tell me that they need a highly-skilled workforce with technical, problem-solving, and soft skills to operate advance equipment. They also point out that they are struggling to compete with larger companies to attract that talent.
In the podcast, you'll learn about paid internships, apprenticeships, and other recruiting and training initiatives. You'll also hear from local colleges and how they are helping meet the hiring surge.
The Manufacturing Comeback
The recent uptick in manufacturing construction and hiring is fueled by the infusion of federal funding through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act enacted in 2021, the CHIPS and Science Act enacted in 2022, and private funding.
To better understand how the manufacturing comeback is reshaping the workforce, I speak with Gardner Carrick, chief program officer for The Manufacturing Institute, which is helping employers figure out how to build a strong talent pipeline. .
This three-part podcast series is a robust conversation about an industry that is once again looking for workers.
Next week, in Episode Three, we conclude the series with a conversation around how large and small employers are tapping into underrepresented talent to fill jobs.
You can listen to the entire conversation here, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find our podcasts on the Work in Progress YouTube channel.
This series is made possible through support from The Manufacturing Institute. As a nonprofit journalism organization, WorkingNation partners and collaborates with outside organizations to make possible our mission of telling stories about solutions to today's workforce issues. All editorial decisions on this series were made independently of our supporter.
Episode 340: The Manufacturing Comeback: Small Employers are Hiring in Your TownHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNationProducer: Larry BuhlTheme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode hereWork in Progress Podcast: Catch up on previous episodes here -
In this episode of the Work in Progress podcast, we begin a three-part series examining the manufacturing comeback in the United States, the resulting surge in job creation, and the types of skills workers need to get those jobs.
In the series, we explore how the nation's employers are finding, training, and retraining the talent to fill as many as 3.8 million jobs over the next eight years. Manufacturers say they are already having trouble filling those jobs.
Episode One of The Manufacturing Comeback focuses on how large employers are addressing the shortage of skilled talent.
Building a Talent Pipeline
I recently traveled to Minneapolis to attend The Manufacturing Institute's Workforce Summit 2025. There I spoke with Mark Rayfield, CEO of Saint-Gobain North America and CertainTeed, and with Paul Myles, senior manager of Government Workforce Development and Training Programs at Magna International.
In the podcast, Rayfield and Myles discuss how while the demand for manufacturing jobs in America is surging, finding skilled talent to fill these roles is a growing challenge. Unlike manufacturing jobs of the past, these jobs are often tech-focused. That means manufacturing employers are competing with other industries that are also looking for a tech-skilled workforce.
We discuss innovative recruitment methods, effective partnerships with educational institutions, and creating career pathways for people from all backgrounds.
Behind the Manufacturing Resurgence
The recent surge of manufacturing construction and hiring is being fueled by the infusion of federal funding through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act enacted in 2021, the CHIPS and Science Act enacted in 2022, and private funding.
To better understand how the manufacturing comeback is reshaping the workforce, I speak with Gardner Carrick, chief program officer for The Manufacturing Institute, which is helping employers figure out how to build a strong talent pipeline. Also joining this part of the conversation is Yustina Saleh, managing director of Workforce Innovation for The Burning Glass Institute.
Importantly, we look at the ebbs and flows of manufacturing hiring and how jobs have changed over the past several decades. We also examine why it has become more difficult to find workers interested in manufacturing careers, despite the fact that they are often good-paying jobs.
You can listen to the entire conversation here, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find our podcasts on the Work in Progress YouTube channel.
The Manufacturing Comeback
This three-part podcast series is a robust conversation about an industry that is once again looking for workers.
Next week, in Episode Two, we turn our attention to how smaller manufacturers are attempting to find and train new workers.
This series is made possible through support from The Manufacturing Institute. As a nonprofit journalism organization, WorkingNation partners and collaborates with outside organizations to make possible our mission of telling stories about solutions to today's workforce issues. All editorial decisions on this series were made independently of our supporter.
Episode 339: The Manufacturing Comeback: How Large Employers are Sourcing TalentHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNationProducer: Larry BuhlTheme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode hereWork in Progress Podcast: Catch up on previous episodes here -
In this episode of Work in Progress, I am joined by two leaders of the U.S. Coast Guard Career Investment Division, Chief Stephen Keck and Deputy Chief Christopher Cruz. We take a look at how the Coast Guard is preparing its service members for the vital jobs they do in active service to the country and giving them the training, credentials, and degrees they need to succeed in the civilian workforce, including in critical national security roles.Transitioning from active military duty to a civilian career can be one of the most stressful times of your life according to today's guests. Fortunately, there are people in every branch of the military to help prepare service members for that big step. Both Keck and Cruz are veterans and both understand that service members learn remarkable skills while serving their country, skills that are vital to our nation's security. They also know that sometimes it's helpful to have a degree or industry-recognized credentials as they make that transition from active duty to veteran.In the podcast, we discuss the training that the U.S. Coast Guard provides for active duty service men and women. They also explain how those Coast Guard Sentinels can get credit through civilian industry-recognized credentials for those military jobs. For example, merchant mariner is a national security role that Coast Guard veterans are highly-qualified for and the program Keck and Cruz run make it easier for those veterans to qualify for those jobs.We also talk about other credentialing opportunities, two- and four-year college, and the durable skills a veteran leaves the military with.You can listen to the entire conversation here, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find our podcasts on the Work in Progress YouTube channel.Episode 338: Stephen Keck, Chief, U.S. Coast Guard Career Investment Division; Christopher Cruz, Deputy Chief, U.S. Coast Guard Career Investment DivisionHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNationProducer: Larry BuhlTheme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode hereWork in Progress Podcast: Catch up on previous episodes here
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In this episode of the Work in Progress podcast, I'm joined by Taj Eldridge, managing director of Jobs for the Future (JFF), to discuss the growing opportunity for good-paying climate-resilient jobs and for entrepreneurs who want to combine enterprise and purpose.
The climate-resilient industry, says Eldridge, is still in an "adolescent phase" but is estimated to be valued at $5 trillion globally.
Emerging technologies and entrepreneurial activity is growing, due to federal, state, and local initiatives and funding, as well as corporate sustainability directives.
In addition to traditional green jobs such as those in clean energy, climate-resilient jobs can be found in all industries, creating career opportunities with family-sustaining wages and benefits.
This is attracting workers and jobseekers who are looking for good jobs that give them a sense of purpose.
Eldridge and I discuss the job-creating initiative CREST, short for Climate-Resilient Employees for a Sustainable Tomorrow.
The goal of the initiative funded by Ares Charitable Foundation is to train and place 25,000 Americans in quality green jobs, while also supporting entrepreneurial ventures in climate tech.
In the podcast, we take a closer look at some of those start-ups in the CREST Entrepreneur-in-Resident program and how they are working to make their communities more climate-resilient while creating pathways to long-term careers.
You can listen to the entire conversation here, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find our podcasts on the Work in Progress YouTube channel.
Episode 337: Taj Eldridge, Jobs for the Future (JFF) managing directorHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNationProducer: Larry BuhlTheme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode hereWork in Progress Podcast: Catch up on previous episodes here -
In this episode of Work in Progress, I am joined by Chike Aguh, senior advisor to The Project on Workforce at Harvard University and the former Chief Innovation Officer for the Biden Administration. He's also a member of the WorkingNation Advisory Board. We sat down to discuss the impact of AI and tech innovation on the workforce, particularly midcareer and older workers, at the Equity Summit 2024 in Washington, a collaboration between CWI Labs, Center for Workforce Inclusion, and WorkingNation.
Sometimes it feels like technology is moving so fast that many of us are at risk of being left behind.
The U.S. economy is in need of workers right now, with 10 job openings for every eight people looking for work. Some employers say they are struggling to find workers with the right tech skills and timeless interpersonal skills.
At the Equity Summit, Aguh and I discussed ways to ensure that midcareer and older worker have access to opportunities in today's labor market, in hiring, job retention, and reskilling. Aguh talked about how technology can't replace everyone but tech innovations such as AI could exacerbate existing inequities for marginalized older workers, including older workers of color.
He offered up ideas on how employers can utilize the talents of older workers, rather than buying into biases and outdated assumptions about their abilities. Aguh offered specific strategies employers could use to help upskilled and integrate their workers into the workforce to help solve their labor shortage.
You can listen to the full podcast here, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find the podcast our the Work in Progress YouTube channel.
Episode 336: Chike Aguh, Senior Advisor, The Project on Workforce at Harvard UniversityHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNationProducer: Larry BuhlTheme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode hereWork in Progress Podcast: Catch up on previous episodes here -
In this episode of Work in Progress, Frankie Miranda, president and CEO of the Hispanic Federation, and Mauricio Garcia, senior VP of programs for UnidosUS join me to discuss the digital divide that is threatening to create further barriers to family-sustaining jobs for Latinos and Hispanics.
You've probably heard about the digital gap or digital divide in the U.S. For U.S. Latinos that gap is significant. According to the Pew Research Center, 80% of whites are connected to broadband internet while only 65% of Latinos are. And Latinos may get less encouragement to seek digital training or jobs requiring digital skills.
That digital disparity means Latinos as a group face more challenges when job-seeking. Without a high level of digital skills, Latinos and others are increasingly shut out of career opportunities.
As Latinos are set to drive nearly 80% of workforce growth by 2030, closing the digital divide is not just a social priority, it’s an economic imperative.
I spoke with Miranda and Garcia at the JFF Horizons conference in Washington, D.C., in July. We discussed how community-based organizations, upskilling programs, and policy initiatives are working to bridge the gap and empower the Latino workforce.
You can listen to the entire conversation here, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find it on the Work in Progress YouTube channel.
Episode 335: Frankie Miranda, president & CEO, Hispanic Federation, and Mauricio Garcia, SVP of programs, UnidosUSHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNationProducer: Larry BuhlTheme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode hereWork in Progress Podcast: Catch up on previous episodes here -
In this episode of Work in Progress, I'm joined by Carolyn Lee, president and executive director of The Manufacturing Institute, to talk about what's behind the comeback in manufacturing jobs in the U.S. and what employers need to do to fill another 3.8 million jobs over the next eight years.
"We are at a all-time high since the Great Recession with manufacturing jobs filled here in the sector," says Lee. "We're just hovering at 13 million and that means we have recovered from all the jobs that were originally lost during the Great Recession and now we have gone back up all the way to the top of the mountain."
What's behind the resurgence in hiring?
Lee cites a number of reasons:
consumer demand and spending has been strong since COVID,
a favorable tax environment,
and the drive to invest federal money through the CHIPS and Science Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
"From the CHIPS Act, there have been huge announcements of investment from Intel in Ohio. You have large investments being made in Texas and then a number of very large investments in Arizona. as well, and that's just specific to CHIPS. If you look at EV manufacturing, there's huge investments in Kansas and in Alabama and in Georgia and the Southeast," she tells me.
Lee adds, "Not only has it been the CHIPS and the Infrastructure Bill that have driven a lot of government funding, there is a huge grants program out of the Department of Commerce, the Good Jobs Act, which came from a previous set of legislation that helped invest in job training. That's something The Manufacturing Institute team has been working on in a number of regions including Fresno, California, Ohio, and Texas."
She says employers continue to hire, but there are still almost 600,000 open jobs in the industry every month. Lee cites a report from The Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte Consulting which forecasts that over the next eight years, the manufacturing industry will need as many as 3.8 million additional workers, many with these digital skills.
The report lays out a strategy to help employers fill those jobs, particularly through investing in worker training. Lee and I discuss what this means for the worker and job seeker and why they should consider being one of those millions of in-demand workers needed in manufacturing.
You can listen to the podcast here, or download and listen wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find the podcast on the Work in Progress YouTube channel.
Episode 315: Carolyn Lee, president and executive director, The Manufacturing InstituteHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNationProducer: Larry BuhlTheme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode hereWork in Progress Podcast: Catch up on previous episodes here -
In this episode of Work in Progress, I'm joined by Mariela Salas, Ph.D., executive director of SomosVC, a nonprofit focused on accelerating and elevating the presence of Latinos and Latinas in the venture capital industry. The organization argues that if more Latinos become VCs, more money will flow to diverse startup founders.
In simple terms, venture capital itself is a type of financing for startups and small businesses with very high, long-term growth potential. Despite making up 19.5% of the U.S. populations, less than 2% of all professionals in the venture capital industry and ecosystem are Latino.
"There are various factors that are leading to us being underrepresented within the ecosystem. There are cultural barriers, socioeconomic barriers, lack of access, and lack of opportunity," says Salas. "And I think there's this big myth, especially for Latinos, that we do not, or have not been creating high-growth companies."
Salas says typically venture capitalists tend to come from Ivy League schools such as Stanford and Harvard. "They go on to do some investment banking for a little while, or consulting, and then after that they decide to make the transition into VC.
"In addition to wanting to change or diversify the folks who are able to break into the industry, we're also thinking about how do we diversify geographically, and how do we diversify in thought? Meaning how do we diversify and bring folks into the industry who didn't necessarily go to one of these Ivy League schools," she adds.
In our conversation, Salas and I discuss how SomosVC is trying to change the venture capital industry through career development, mentorship programs, and fellowships. She describes the nonprofit's eight-week course which includes hands-on practicums and case studies on how to start your own fund.
Salas also explains which cities are ripe for these new VC funds and how adding more Latinos to the venture capital industry will lead to more Latino-owned startups.
You can listen to the entire conversation here, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Episode 334: Dr. Mariela Salas, executive director, SomosVCHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNationProducer: Larry BuhlTheme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode hereWork in Progress Podcast: Catch up on previous episodes here -
In this episode of Work in Progress, AmeriCorps CEO Michael D. Smith joins me to discuss how taking part in the national service program can help you serve your community, giving you a sense of purpose, while also helping you develop hard and soft career skills. Since 1993, AmeriCorps has been providing opportunities for Americans of all backgrounds to personally address the nation's most pressing challenges and improve lives in their communities. They are working in our schools, working at food pantries, and working to advance the U.S. march toward climate-resiliency.
Today, there are more than 200,000 AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps senior volunteers that are serving in nearly 40,000 locations across the country.
"AmeriCorps, for 30 years, has operated on this simple belief that we may not have enough tax money to pay all the people to do all of the things that our communities need, but what we do have is this unique American ethos where people want to give back. They want to serve," says Smith, AmeriCorps CEO.
"There is something that is wonderful and beautiful about service that is selfless, and we love all the selfless, passionate, compassionate people that want to serve. In many cases, they're serving full-time jobs. Sometimes they're moving their whole lives."
When you serve with AmeriCorps, along with the sense of purpose and giving back, you get a living allowance and education benefits, including an Eli Segal Education Award and student loan forbearance while you're serving.
There is also the on-the-job training benefit.
"A year of service is going to help you accelerate on your career path. You might walk away with certifications or credentialing. You get a variety of benefits that will help you to live while you serve, but maybe even more importantly will help to take you really, really far into your chosen career path," says Smith.
While conservation has been a part of AmeriCorps since the very beginning, the newly-minted American Climate Corps launched this year, attracting people of all ages, but particularly young adults interested in climate-resiliency.
"What's really cool about it is the demand is through the roof. Within six weeks of launching the American Climate Corps, 50,000 people signed up saying we want to be a part of this. We believe that there is something that this generation wants to do here, and we're giving them an opportunity to take action now," Smith tells me.
"We've got 9,000 American Climate Corps members that are in the field right now. They are gaining skills while they're serving, and they are also being connected with resources to make sure that they can get the green energy and climate jobs of the future.
"You've got some people that are doing the traditional trail work. Those are the folks out in the woods. You've got some people that are doing solar panels in inner city communities or urban farming. You've got some folks that are working on climate education. You've got some people that are working on tribal land. We've come up with a lot of different options depending upon what your interests are, and we're just really excited," Smith says.
Our conversation continues with Smith and I discussing more of the work the American Climate Corps is doing advance climate-resiliency. We also discuss how you can find a service opportunity that suits your passions. And Smith talks about how the national service program is changing lives throughout the country, both for community residents and for AmeriCorps members.
You can listen to the entire conversation here, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also get the podcast on the Work in Progress podcast YouTube channel.
Episode 333: Michael D. Smith, CEO, AmeriCorpsHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNationProducer: Larry BuhlTheme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode hereWork ... -
In this episode of the Work in Progress podcast, I'm joined by Dr. Antonio Tijerino, president and CEO of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation, to talk about the two pillars of the nonprofit's mission: workforce development and education for the Hispanic community, the fastest-growing part of the U.S. workforce.
Over the next seven years, nearly eight in 10 new jobs in the labor market will be filled by a Latino, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The majority of those jobs will require some level of digital skills. Tijerino says the Hispanic Heritage Foundation is working with major companies across the country to offer training.
"We have a value proposition as the Latino community, and we want to make sure that we're prepping our community to provide that value proposition in the workforce.
"We're working with AT&T, for instance, in terms of skills building all over the country for youth, but also for people that are currently in a particular job and want to transition into another job. Same with IBM," explains Tijerino.
"We want to make sure that they have access to not just tools but also certifications and access to a career path in areas that we need to fulfill. We want to make sure that our community is in good position as they move into those jobs – that they're in the skilled areas – that they're in the technology areas that (those jobs) are in."
Tijerino adds that education is a key component of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation mission.
"Education is workforce development in the first place because, ultimately, what you're trying to do is build towards the rest of your life and what you're going to do with that education.
"For instance, in education, we teach 100,000 students how to computer code. It's broader than just simply trying to teach a bunch of kids how to code, trying to give them confidence with technology, feel a sense of belonging in technology, for instance, and also make sure we're building social capital at every step as they go into their careers and have that touch point."
The Hispanic Heritage Foundation is also trying to address the the digital divide in terms of Wi-Fi. A homework gap leads to a workforce gap, says Tijerino.
"We have found through surveys that we did with the Student Research Foundation that Latinos were most likely to say that their grades suffered because they didn't have Wi-Fi at home to do their homework, most likely to say that they couldn't finish their homework. Parents were most likely to say they couldn't communicate with a teacher because they didn't have Wi-Fi at home.
"We want to make sure that everybody's connected because you can't succeed in education or in the workforce or in community building if you don't have access to Wi-Fi."
We dive into how the Hispanic Heritage Foundation is working to close those gaps and increase tech upskilling. You can listen to the entire conversation here, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find it here, on the Work in Progress YouTube channel.
Episode 332: Dr. Antonio Tijerino, President & CEO, Hispanic Heritage FoundationHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNationProducer: Larry BuhlTheme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode hereWork in Progress Podcast: Catch up on previous episodes here -
In this episode of the Work in Progress podcast, STRIVE president & CEO Philip Weinberg and STRIVE board co-chair Roy Castro join me to discuss how the nonprofit has been connecting historically-excluded populations to life-changing careers and skills for the past 40 years.
"We believe in the principles of equity and justice and opportunity for all. There's too many individuals, as we know, in our communities who are talented and looking for access to build a career, but often don't know where to go. We believe at STRIVE in giving them a fair shot," explains Weinberg.
The nonprofit was born in 1984 in the basement of an East Harlem New York public housing apartment building. Today, STRIVE is in about a dozen cities, including Baltimore, New Orleans, and San Diego, and has helped nearly 90,000 graduates gain access to the training and support needed to build a career.
Weinberg adds, "We show up in communities through partners that license with STRIVE to deliver our evidence-based workforce programming within their broader portfolio of services. STRIVE always shows up in concert with community, with public officials and mayors' offices, and anchor institutions like community colleges, other nonprofit providers, and local philanthropy."
Weinberg says most of their students come to STRIVE unemployed or in low-wage, low-quality jobs.
"Our average age is about 30. Most of our students come to us on public assistance looking to create a sense of financial independence and empowerment for themselves and their families. Over 40% of our students are parents to minors. 40% of our students do have experience with the criminal justice system.
"We've built a model that is comprehensive to support people who are often encountering significant hurdles in life through no fault of their own – injustices, racial injustices, injustices in systems," he adds.
STRIVE offers 10 weeks of no-cost training that is customized to credentials local employers are looking for that can give the students access to high-quality, high-growth occupations. The program includes three to four weeks of intensive coaching and mentorship on team-building, managing conflict, and professional communications. After the training, the nonprofit's employment team works with the students to connect them with employers.
Roy Castro is the co-chair of the STRIVE board and the founder and CEO of Castro Ventures, a multimillion dollar firm. He is also a STRIVE alum.
"22 years ago, I actually graduated from STRIVE. They took a Roy who was 28 years old, never had a job in his life, only knew the street life. After the street life, he only knew prison life. No job experience, no corporate America experience, never had a manager, didn't like command and chain of command, didn't understand that. And STRIVE was able to show this kid that there's more out there," Castro shares.
"I was one of the lucky ones that was able to go to STRIVE. STRIVE took me in and guided me at when I was literally at my most darkest moment in my life when I was most lost, and I needed more than just a job at that time, and STRIVE was there to pick me up," he explains. "This is why I'm so passionate and why 22 years later I'm equally – if not more – as passionate and I give my time to STRIVE."
Weinberg and Castro go into more detail on how the program connects students to those jobs and how the STRIVE program doesn't end at graduation. STRIVE offers them lifetime support.
You can listen to the entire conversation here, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find it on our Work in Progress YouTube channel.
Episode 331: STRIVE president & CEO Philip Weinberg and STRIVE board co-chair Roy CastroHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNationProducer: Larry BuhlTheme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode hereWork in Progress Podcast: Catch up on previous ep... -
Skilled trade workers are in big demand and short supply and it just might be a career pathway you should consider. WorkingNation and Scripps News have partnered on a new series, Fire Up Your Career, to explore the types of jobs available, what employers are doing to attract talent, and how you can get the skills needed for these good-paying jobs popping up all across the country. Read the article and listen to the podcast, then watch the video below of WorkingNation on Scripps News discussing what's driving the demand and creating new job opportunities in the skilled trades.
In this episode of Work in Progress, we're talking about the shortage of skilled trade workers and what employers can do about it. I am joined by Brooke Weddle, McKinsey & Company senior partner and co-author of the McKinsey report Tradespeople Wanted: The Need for Critical Trade Skills in the U.S.
The country is facing a hiring crunch for skilled workers such as carpenters, electricians, welders, and plumbers. What’s behind the critical demand for talent in the trades? Weddle says the shortage is not new, but the demand has skyrocketed over the past few years.
"That comes from things like the bipartisan infrastructure law. It comes from the energy transition. It comes from infrastructure investments beyond the Biden bipartisan infrastructure law. We see things like the CHIPS Act," she explains.
“Two important supply-side trends are decreasing the number of skilled laborers in the U.S. workforce: the aging U.S. population and too few younger people entering the trades.” according to the report.
Weddle adds, "We are not seeing enough new entrants into those skilled trade roles, so thus the gap that we observe. It's troubling because it's getting in the way of productivity and performance of a lot of organizations."
The report estimates that cost of the worker shortage to U.S. companies is over $5 billion. "We're not talking about small numbers here. And having worked with many industrial manufacturing companies that are employing these skilled trades, I can tell you that this is not a HR topic. This is a CEO topic," Weddle tells me in the podcast.
"If you listen to any earnings call of a large industrial company in the past 12, 24 months, I would be hard-pressed to find one that is not talking about workforce issues, whether it's acquiring that talent or retaining that talent or making that talent more productive," she says.
The report finds that the demand for workers in the skilled trades is only going to increase based on McKinsey's analysis on the data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and talking with employers.
Weddle and I discuss some ideas of how employers can attract and retain new workers to fill current and future roles, including working locally with a variety of partners.
"So involving others in the community, whether those are economic development organizations, workforce councils. There is obviously the big role to play on the educational provider side. As we know, that is certainly not just higher ed, but it is community colleges. It is vocational schools.
"One of the things that we've seen is that when you're orchestrating and integrating at this regional level, then you're able to much more quickly match what are the skills and goals we need to how do we build the workforce that is required?
"I would say failure is not an option. We must be optimistic, but we must be smart optimists. We need to find new innovative ways to work together," Weddle tells me.
We go deeper into specific examples of how this regional partner approach is getting results. We also talk about some of the reasons younger adults might not want to join the skilled trades and how employers can address those issues to attract a new generation of workers.
You can listen to the entire conversation here, or wherever you get your podcasts.
You can read the McKinsey & Company Tradespeople Wanted report here. -
In this episode of Work in Progress, Josh Elder, vice president and head of grantmaking for Siegel Family Endowment, joins me to discuss the importance of tech connectivity in creating access and opportunity to jobs in rural America. We also talk about the overall impact technology is having on society, education, and the way we do our jobs.
For more than 10 years, the Siegel Family Endowment, a private family foundation, has supported a wide range of grantees that are focused on understanding and shaping the impact of emerging technology on society. Of late that conversation has be more and more about artificial intelligence.
"The way that we've been thinking about it is understanding how AI is impacting work today, both in terms of the impact it is having on employers, but – and this is where we want to elevate this conversation – the impact of AI on workers," Elder explains.
He says the big questions they are examining with their grantees are whether AI is being done to workers or is AI being done with workers. "Oftentimes when you hear about AI in the workforce, everyone immediately jumps to thinking about is AI going to replace people? Is AI going to displace people and reduce jobs? And we know we've seen some of the early stats and some of that is happening."
He adds that as AI tools and products continuing to evolve, it is important to make certain the workers' voice is being listened to and integrated into those tools "to really mitigate some of the harms and the bias that we unfortunately are seeing day-to-day with more and more emerging technology taking place and impacting workers, especially marginalized workers in the workforce."
Early on, our conversation in the podcast turns to jobs in rural America and the importance of access to a solid tech infrastructure, connectivity, and broadband.
"If you don't even have the fundamental elements of connectivity, you're already facing obstacles and challenges that are putting you behind. That's something that we've really been looking at – especially in places like rural America – to really create the connectivity and digital infrastructure that's needed to then connect to both the physical and social infrastructure that you're going to (need) in the workforce," says Elder.
As rural America faces a "brain drain" of younger adults moving out of their communities to find jobs, that digital infrastructure takes on more importance.
"I speak as someone who grew up in rural America. I felt like I had to move out in order to be able to find the opportunities or pursue opportunities for things that I was interested in. I know some of that, unfortunately, is still the case.
"What we are trying to do, especially with CORI (Center on Rural Innovation) and others, is look at how can you create a rural innovation ecosystem and hubs that can provide more opportunities, either for entrepreneurship or for other companies to be developed, that can actually support and provide opportunities for citizens there and also grow talent pipelines.
"There's amazing talent that exists in these rural communities. They often just don't have connection to the opportunities to be able to build out for success. We're really interested in looking at the connection between education, workforce, and infrastructure needed to be able to scale these opportunities at a rapid rate," says Elder.
Josh Elder goes into much more details on how Siegel Family Endowment is working with grantees to address these issues, the importance of building equitable access to jobs and education, and how we all should have a voice in tech's impact on society.
You can listen to the entire conversation here, or wherever you get your podcasts. Or you can catch the interview on my Work in Progress YouTube channel.
Episode 329: Josh Elder, vice president & head of grantmaking, Siegel Family EndowmentHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, -
In this episode of the Work in Progress podcast, Brian Peckrill, executive director of the William G. McGowan Charitable Fund, and Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., president and CEO of SHRM, join me in a discussion on how an ethical leader can foster a strong culture of integrity and inclusion from the top of the organization to the bottom.
For the past three years, the McGowan Charitable Fund and SHRM have partnered to present the Ethical Leader of the Year Award to a CEO they believe embodies the belief that principles and profits are not incompatible.
"There are great leaders out there in the world who are making business decisions that have both great financial impacts, but are also mindful of their stakeholders, their customers, as well as their workforces," says Peckrill.
Peckrill says there are six core competencies that make up an ethical leader – character, integrity, accountability, empathy, self-awareness, resilience, and courage. "Leaders need all of these. Sometimes they need different qualities at different moments, but to really put forth a leadership practice that doesn't just benefit the financial performance of the organization but pushes the organization forward and serves its people, (leaders) need all of these values."
He adds that CEOs that embrace these values are transforming both their organizations and society.
SHRM's Taylor agrees and says without strong ethical leadership at the top organizations can struggle. "It's because the culture is not one that makes clear that ethics is the way we do business. When you think about ethical cultures, it is both a treetop and a sort of ground-up grassroots effort to get this right. We need every employee, and we need all leaders. And we do this right, then we have business cultures that are successful and ethical."
He says there's a right and a wrong way to do business and the ethical decision is one that we've got to make sure that we teach our colleagues how to recognize.
This year, McGowan and SHRM presented the Ethical Leader of the Year Award to Marvin Ellison, president and CEO of Lowe's. Peckrill says Ellison was an easy choice based on how, under his leadership, the company has invested in its workers and the communities it serves both during and after the COVID pandemic.
Listen to the podcast here or wherever you get your podcasts to learn more about Ellison's leadership and also more about the benefits to a company when the CEO makes a clear choice to set ethical standards and insist they are followed from the top to the bottom of the organization.
Or you can catch the interview on my Work in Progress YouTube channel.
Episode 328: Brian Peckrill, executive director, William G. McGowan Charitable Fund and Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., president & CEO, SHRMHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNationProducer: Larry BuhlTheme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode hereWork in Progress Podcast: Catch up on previous episodes here -
In this episode of Work in Progress, I am joined by Scott Pulsipher, president of Western Governors University to talk about how the online university flips the standard postsecondary education model to create individualized learning plans for each student. We also discuss the latest WGU offering: a new fund designed to help prepare students for jobs in nursing, which is now facing a critical shortage nationwide.
Since its founding in 1997. Western Governors University (WGU) has prided itself in innovating the way higher education prepares students to enter the workforce.
Pulsipher says at the heart of that continuing innovation is the idea that every person is unique, with unique needs and circumstances, as they enter into the workforce or seek a career that will provide them with economic mobility.
"It starts with a very simple truth: there is inherent worth in every individual and that we believe – and know, in fact – if given the opportunity, each one has something big to contribute. Everyone has the innate capacity for learning. It doesn't mean that we learn the same way or that we go at the same pace," he explains.
"We apply that by just simply recognizing everyone can learn and everyone has the opportunity to contribute, so how do we make these pathways as accessible and affordable and traversable for every individual?"
Pulsipher says that translates into offering individualized and personalized plans for each student, along with a mentor to help them navigate the pathway to their career goals.
"The program mentor is someone who's with you from the day you start your program until the day you graduate. Their job isn't to just augment your instruction and your learning, but to also help you deal with all the challenges, disruptions, offsets that you may have. It's like a bit of a secret sauce into helping our students complete at much higher rate than they might otherwise."
Another key to helping the students, according to Pulsipher, is working with employers across the country, accessing what skills they are looking for right now and in the near future.
"We always adapting and advancing the curriculum to be relevant to the world of work. Certainly, technology's increasing the pace of that change. We know the shelf life of skills is declining or the knowledge is declining, meaning you're going to have to make sure that what you're learning. Our curriculum is directly relevant to the opportunities you see within the next three- to five year horizon, two- to three-year horizon, one- to two-year horizon.
"We're always leveraging our engagements with our employer networks – we have over 250 employers – so that we're always ingesting that workforce data back into the design and development of our curriculum. I think one of the key things that our students rely upon us is for the relevancy of what they've learned to the jobs they want to pursue," he tells me.
One field that is in big demand right now is health care. For example, there's as many as 40,000 unfilled jobs for nurses across the country right now.
"We know that number is going to keep growing because of the aging population and the higher demand for the health care services that are needed. (WGU) is a nationally-scaled provider of nursing programs. We're an institution that operates in the most states for pre-licensure nursing programs, we're now in over 20 different states.
"This allows us to leverage that scale to solve a strategic workforce gap that exists in health care. The hospitals, health systems, community health centers that need those qualified individuals, here is a talent provider now that can do that with a high degree of relevancy and really high pass rates," says Pulsipher.
That combination has led WGU to partner with Social Finance to create the Reinvesting in Nursing Education and Workforce (ReNEW) Fund, which "aims to address these challenges by helping to cover the cost of the final two years of WGU’s... -
In this episode of the Work in Progress podcast, I'm joined by Brittany Greer, the executive director of Rosie Riveters, a nonprofit that is working to close the gender gap in the STEM workforce.
There are an estimated 2.8 million unfilled STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) jobs in this country. Meanwhile, women make up just 28% of the STEM workforce. Since 2016, Brittany Greer has been working to change that.
The nonprofit she founded aims to inspire girls aged 8 to 14 from diverse backgrounds to explore careers in the field through hands-on learning kits.
"It's all of the materials needed to complete the project operationally. We do everything from explore hydraulics – making a hydraulic desk lamp where the arm goes up and down – to exploring the science of sound. To build a harmonica, we have popsicle sticks and rubber bands and straws and if you put those together in the right way, you can make a harmonica that vibrates and make sounds," explains Greer.
She says that part of the lesson of each Rosie Riveters learning kit is to understand how that science project connects to a career in STEM. For example, the connection between the science of sound to a career in the audio-visual industry.
She adds, "The whole goal of our programs is not only excitement and awareness of the opportunities that are available in STEM, that's one part of it. The real core of what we do is providing girls in our programs with an opportunity for productive struggle, a space to get things wrong before they get them rights."
As a result, the young girls not only build critical thinking and problem-solving skills, they build their confidence. "It's watching a kid go from, 'I can't,' to, 'Look what I did.' Because once you get through the struggle and you have completed the task and you did something that you didn't think was possible or you didn't think was fair, there is a radiance that comes off of a participant after that moment and they're excited to show you and talk about it," explains Greer.
Greer believes that building those skills and building confidence is what drives more young girls to consider STEM as a career.
"If you can invest in them early, they will know that they can come and find you at the end. You're going to have a far greater participation rate of of people who have not gone to participate in your space before because you're welcoming them and you're inviting them, and you're showing them the opportunities that are available to them.
"I think the more that we can do that, the more that we can open up opportunities that haven't previously been available to a lot of the population," Greer adds.
Listen to the podcast here, or wherever you get your podcasts, to learn more about how Rosie Riveters gets the kits into the hands of the girls they are hoping to inspire.
You can also find it on my Work in Progress YouTube channel.
Episode 326: Brittany Greer, executive director and founder, Rosie RivetersHost & Executive Producer: Ramona Schindelheim, Editor-in-Chief, WorkingNationProducer: Larry BuhlTheme Music: Composed by Lee Rosevere and licensed under CC by 4Transcript: Download the transcript for this episode hereWork in Progress Podcast: Catch up on previous episodes here - Show more
