Dive Brief:
- It's predicted that automation will have a huge effect on the future of work, disrupting how U.S. companies recruit, hire and train workers, Axios reports. And without a national policy on automation's impact on jobs, or the duration of flat wages and future joblessness, businesses and municipalities across the country are trying to prepare for the possible takeover of hundreds of thousands of jobs, says Axios.
- Recent reports reveal that 338,000 jobs are at risk in Indianapolis (35% of the workforce there), 650,000 in Phoenix and 40,000 in northeastern Ohio. Officials in all three cities are identifying the jobs facing the greatest risk, the skills that will be most in demand and ways to organize industry and education in a new economy, says Axios.
- In Phoenix, Arizona State University is briefing students before they select a major on the jobs that will likely be available when they graduate; Indianapolis aims to link low-income workers with training programs that could provide long-term jobs; and TeamNEO, an economic development group in Cleveland, is beginning to train northeastern Ohio workers for jobs that are predicted to be high in-demand.
Dive Insight:
Cities and local businesses are increasingly teaming up to prepare for the future of work, whatever it may look like. San Diego, for example, responded to companies' requests for assistance with hiring and retention by offering businesses a recruitment toolkit to help them attract talent and proactively address recruiting, hiring and training challenges that may soon disrupt the market.
States also are getting involved: Automakers Volvo and Toyota are partnering with South Carolina and Alabama, respectively, to recruit and train workers as automation sweeps the industry. Volvo has teamed up with local colleges and Toyota has reached out to the community to staff their new plants.
Meanwhile, California and New Jersey are sponsoring record numbers of apprenticeships, to give workers on-the-job training. Partnerships with cities, states and local communities may help U.S. companies remain competitive and prepare their workforces for this expected wave of automation.