In this episode of Work in Progress, we check in from CES 2025 in Las Vegas, "the world's largest tech event." Guest Gary Shapiro, Consumer Technology Association (CTA) CEO and vice chairman, says AI remains the buzz word at this year's CES and he discusses the impact artificial intelligence and other emerging tech will continue to have on the workforce.

"AI has been around for many, many, many years. It flies 95% of the flights we take on airplanes. What changed a little over a year and a half ago was this shift to ChatGPT where anyone with a computer could actually use generative AI that could learn from databases, so the potential is huge," says Shapiro.

He says this evolution of AI is being rapidly adapted into all industries, from manufacturing to health care to marketing. For workers, this means some tasks will be automated.

"A lot of companies jumped on it and they figured out that a lot of the reports they pay a lot of people to do could be written in a matter of hours with just some simple programming and databases, and you'll get analysis if you fed in the prior reports."

But, Shapiro adds, AI is also creating new opportunities for creativity and innovation and you can see it in products on display at CES.

"Those kinds of things are changing the workforce and what some people do, and it's freed them up to do other higher-level things rather than prepare similar reports all the time."

My conversation with Shapiro also explores the importance of preparing the American workforce for these technological changes through STEM education, workforce development programs, and policies that enable alternative pathways to careers beyond traditional four-year college degrees.

Shapiro emphasizes the need to balance regulating AI while not stifling innovation that can improve people's lives.

"I'm excited about AI, but I also understand legitimate concerns. There is a natural fear that we have as human beings when things change. But things are always changing, and that's always been the case. What's made humans survive is our adaptability to new situations. We keep improving."

In the podcast, Shapiro highlights some of the other tech innovation you can see at CES and its role in our lives and workplace.

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 346: Gary Shapiro, CEO and vice chairman, Consumer Technology AssociationHost & 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, Joshua Wright, EVP of Growth for Lightcast, discusses The Rising Storm, the labor research group's forecast of a massive labor shortage over the next eight years and how we can fix the problem before it hurts the economy.

According the Lightcast report, the workforce will face a labor shortage of six million workers between now and 2032, the largest shortage in our country's history.

Wright says the it is being driven by the retirement of the baby boomer generation, declining birth rates, and reduced participation in the prime-age workforce. But, he adds, while there is no silver bullet, there are ways we can solve the problem by acting now.

It comes down, Wright says, to taking a closer look at the way we educate and train people for the workforce.

"I think fundamentally this is an opportunity. It is a challenge, but it's also an opportunity to restructure and rethink the systems that were developed. We're already seeing states do this, creating new workforce and education offices, or putting those two together and thinking of, 'How do we transform our education and workforce systems?'"

He goes into details on those solutions for developing more workforce programs to upskill and retain existing workers. Wright says employers play a key role in this strategy, as do the education institutions and local and state governments.

In the podcast, Wright also explains how technology can help speed up these solutions and he addresses the role immigration has always played, and should continue to play, in our labor force.

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 345: Joshua Wright, EVP of Growth, LightcastHost & 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, 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

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

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