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Brought to you by Liz Hilton Segel, chief client officer and managing partner, global industry practices, & Homayoun Hatami, managing partner, global client capabilities
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Trade school advantage. For decades, parents have persuaded their kids to find desk jobs that may confer status instead of calloused hands. Trade schools are an option, the thinking goes, for those who can’t attend a four-year college. But with generative AI poised to transform knowledge workers’ activities, perhaps young people should reexamine the trades. After all, some of those jobs may be less exposed to AI. Training for a career as a chef, electrician, or telecom technician also costs far less than earning a bachelor’s degree. [WaPo]
CEOs’ plans for AI. Some experts speculate that generative AI poses an existential threat to workers. In banking, insurance, and IT, US companies are already using AI to provide investment tips, detect fraud, and draft letters welcoming new colleagues. What the technologies can’t do is replace human ingenuity, judgment, and empathy, according to top US CEOs. For the moment, leaders should consider AI to be a tool to augment, rather than replace, human capabilities, says the CEO of a global financial-services firm. [Fortune]
Changing roles. The US labor market is evolving fast. Many employees are working flexibly from the home and office, and employers are speeding up adoption of automation technologies. Generative AI is extending the possibilities for automation to a much wider set of careers. Amid this disruption, workers changed jobs at a remarkable pace. From 2019 to 2022, some 8.6 million occupational shifts occurred in the US. Twelve million more job shifts may be needed by 2030, McKinsey Global Institute director Kweilin Ellingrud and coauthors explain.
Accelerating automation. With generative AI in the mix, automation is about to affect a wider set of work activities involving expertise, interaction with people, and creativity. Automation could take over tasks that account for about 30% of hours worked in the US economy by 2030. The employment mix could change significantly through 2030, with more healthcare, STEM, and managerial positions and fewer customer service, office support, and food services jobs. Consider how employers can fill the jobs of the future.
— Edited by Belinda Yu, editor, Atlanta
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