Conference Presentation, Panel, Fireside Chat
The Future of Workforce in California: Industry Trends and Employment Pipelines
- Automation is expected to displace jobs in the auto industry, manufacturing, retail express lanes, and water systems, necessitating a shift toward universal basic income models with limited growth capacity due to declining economic mobility over the last 30 years.
- The workforce faces a mismatch where millions of experienced Americans are out of position, with technical skills now outnumbering cognitive and non-cognitive skills, while two-thirds of autoworkers in tuition-based programs fail to complete them.
- Strategic partnerships involving industry, government, and educational institutions from high schools to universities are required to train individuals for existing and future jobs, specifically targeting people in their 50s who may work for another 15 to 20 years.
- California housing markets in the Bay Area and Silicon Beach will continue suffering from cost inflation and distortions driven by a lack of locally trained skilled workers, while Hong Kong faces stagnation due to unaffordable housing and skills mismatches.
- The 21st-century workforce dynamic requires nimble upskilling for existing employees and early education to ensure possibilities are known, as degrees alone are insufficient without placement and connections to real employment opportunities.
- JPMorgan Chase plans to contribute $1 million to fire-affected areas in California, with the North Valley Community Foundation receiving $750,000 and two other entities receiving $125,000 each, while automatically waiving late and overdraft fees for customers in Butte, Ventura, and Los Angeles counties.
- E-Velocity intends to grow using a subscription model with fewer vehicles, maintain a workforce under 500 employees after 11 months with turnover below 1%, and implement a Pathways rotation program for early career staff over three years.
- Northrop Grumman operates approximately 28,000 employees at 130 California sites, with 10,000 to 11,000 current openings, planning to hire 2,000 recent graduates, 3,000 interns, and 25% veterans annually.
- The Los Angeles Basin is developing a regional CRM hub and partnering with 19 community colleges through the Center for a Competitive Workforce to analyze labor supply, demand, and automation impacts across industries like aerospace, biosciences, and digital media.
- Curriculum must be rebuilt to keep pace with industry changes, with opportunities for businesses to co-develop programs such as the Santa Monica College cloud computing initiative and the AeroFlex pre-apprenticeship pathway.
- Intermediaries are expected to emerge to solve the many-to-many education-to-employment problem, with companies like Revature, Tectonic, and TalentPath focusing on local sourcing, diversity metrics, and "try-before-you-buy" talent products.
- Risks include the continuation of California fires and worsening air quality, a population in China fearful of automation despite demographic aging, and a significant number of unfilled jobs in America due to employer disinvestment in early career hiring.
- Long-term readiness requires the system to prepare for the remaining 82 years of the 21st century starting from 2018, leveraging strategic investments in technology and collaboration to ensure economic growth and mobility.