Since 2017, America Succeeds has been urging education systems to embrace the agility needed to meet the demands of the rapidly evolving future of work.
Agile education systems are better positioned to serve the unique needs of every student in normal times. In the face of a major disruption, they are positioned to greatly outperform their more traditional peers.
COVID-19 underscored the urgency of creating agile, adaptable, flexible school systems that can put students at the center of their learning and offer multiple pathways into the future of work.
“High schools and colleges in the U.S. are not turning out graduates with the mix of technical expertise, soft skills, problem-solving ability and communication skills that companies like Toyota need.” – Dennis Parker, Assistant Manager North American Production Support Center, Toyota
“There used to be a more or less steady state. Now it is just constant change. The ability to adapt and change is the key to the future.” – Alexis Sgouros, Vice President and Business Information Officer, Kaiser Permanente
“(Education needs to be) preparing students for jobs that don’t exist and to use technologies, sciences, and methods that we haven’t even discovered yet, to solve problems that we haven’t identified.” – Jaime Casap, Former Education Evangelist, Google
“We’re looking for candidates who are passionate and driven to succeed in their particular area, who learn new concepts and technology quickly, who are curious and innovative and who have a strong sense of integrity.” – Shannon Garcia, Senior Vice President of Recruiting and Human Relations, Home Advisor
“Lifelong learning is the key to the future. At Walmart, we are investing in training and education to equip and ready our associates for the changing nature of work and to further our associates’ education, we have introduced a debt-free college degree for just $1 a day. Policymakers, businesses, education and workforce institutions, and community leaders must work together to share ideas and implement policies that help prepare us for the future.” – Sean Thurman, Director of Global Public Policy, Walmart
“We need to hire people who can maintain and work on this high-tech equipment we’re putting into the factories to keep up with growing worldwide demand for our products.” – Dan Moore, Training Specialist, Simplot
“In the coming years, pressure to reexamine the ways in which companies identify and develop talent will only accelerate as forces like AI and automation reshape entire industries and professions.” – Jake Schwartz, CEO and Co-Founder, General Assembly
“We have not solved the technical training problem of the last generation, even as we are very quickly moving into this new AI and robotics space.” – Mark Osowick, Vice President for Human Resources Operations, Cummins
“We are committed to investing in the development of our team members because a skilled and trained workforce is critical to the success of Tyson Foods. In the same way we add value to our product, we strive to add value to our team members and offer training to help them succeed in the workplace.” – Mike Rogers, Senior Director of Maintenance & Refrigeration, Tyson Foods
In every state and local community, business leaders, educators, and policymakers must work together to confront and conquer the current skills gap and reconfigure the education-to-workforce pipeline. Because we can’t predict the exact skills needed to succeed in tomorrow’s jobs or what future disruptions we may face, our charge is to equip students with the tools of agility and inspire a mindset of lifelong learning.