To Build AI-Ready Workforces, Leaders Look To Upskilling Partnerships And Role Redesign
Key Points
AI’s removal of routine tasks is changing how work gets done, prompting companies to rethink roles and close new skill gaps across the workforce.
Jeanne Meister, HR Consultant and Vice Chair of Excelsior University, encourages leaders to leverage AI to identify emerging skill needs and redesign jobs around human-AI collaboration.
She says companies can close skill gaps by investing in upskilling, partnering with universities to facilitate short-term credentials, and building trust through clear AI guidelines.
There are going to be fewer workers in certain job categories most impacted by AI, but the more immediate issue is really redesigning roles.
Jeanne Meister
Vice Chair
Excelsior University
As companies invest heavily in artificial intelligence, they’re discovering the main challenge in deriving ROI often revolves around the organization’s people rather than its technology. Nowhere is this tension clearer than in early-career roles, where automation is eliminating the very tasks that once served as foundational learning experiences. The trend is contributing to a growing professional judgment gap and raising questions about where all the entry-level jobs have gone, forcing employers to rethink how roles are defined and how employees will work alongside technology in the years to come.
Working to find creative solutions is Jeanne Meister, an Author, HR Consultant, and Vice Chair of Excelsior University. As the founder of two successfully exited HR peer network companies and a columnist for publications like Harvard Business Review, Meister has spent decades at the forefront of workplace transformation. She says the most urgent issue leaders face today is reimagining work for a new era of human-machine partnership.
“The real issue right now is redesigning jobs for entry level. Yes, there are going to be fewer workers in certain job categories most impacted by AI, like software engineering or finance and accounting or professional service, but the more immediate issue is really redesigning roles.” For HR leaders, that redesign begins with understanding how job requirements themselves are shifting.
Minding the gaps: As AI takes over routine tasks and reshapes workflows, Meister believes organizations need better visibility into the skills their workforce currently has and the ones they will soon need. “I think one of the biggest use cases of forward-thinking HR leaders is using AI to predict and close skill gaps in job roles. Without a doubt, this is the first crucial step.” Once skill gaps are identified, employers face the challenge of closing them at scale. “The next question is, how are they going to reskill this population? They can’t really handle it all themselves.”
Degrees optional: To solve the problem, she advocates for employer partnerships with colleges and universities, which can provide the credentials that prove an employee has the AI skills for today’s job market. “I think this is the moment for higher education to rethink their role in providing short-term credentials and certificates, which will help employers and attract a wider audience.” Meister, who authored a book on corporate education and training, says upskilling partnerships are especially relevant at a time when a growing number of organizations are moving toward skills-based hiring. “You don’t need a four-year degree to be considered for a really good job at a Fortune 500 company. You just need to show a credential.”
Meister believes the timing is right for such a move as the higher education industry faces disruption of its own amid declining enrollment. “There’s a demographic cliff where there are just fewer babies being born, which means fewer students to go to college,” she explains. That shift is pushing universities to rethink how they engage with employers and adult learners alike. Shorter credential programs, certificates, and workforce-focused training offer institutions a way to stay relevant while helping companies reskill employees faster than traditional degree programs allow. “Whether they like it or not, universities are going to have to develop proactive partnerships with employers in their local area, and this is the time to do it,” Meister says.
Adoption vs. anxiety: Proactive upskilling can also address AI anxiety, which is another hurdle organizations are navigating. Meister sees technology-driven fears manifest in two ways. “There’s this fear of, ‘if I use AI a lot and tell my manager, does that mean my job is more likely to be automated?’ So that’s the one side of the fear.” The other, she says, is proving AI fluency in a market that depends on it. “A whole host of companies beyond the technology field are now saying you have to be fluent and literate in AI in order to get hired, keep your job, and be considered for a promotion.”
Clarity drives adoption: When employees understand which skills will remain valuable and which new capabilities they need to develop, she says, they’re far more likely to experiment with AI rather than avoid it. “Transparency really addresses both the fear factor and the hesitancy because now people have clarity as to what skills they need to be employable.”
Meister notes that none of this works without trust. Solving the CEO’s ROI challenge means looking beyond the technology and toward building an ethical foundation that makes the workforce feel safe enough to engage. “There need to be guardrails and guidelines communicated so that there’s a clear strategic vision of how AI fits into the company and what the company will and won’t do.” The return on AI investment, she says, is enabled by a return on trust. “For the CEO who has invested a huge amount of money in AI and needs to scale it, building and maintaining trust with the workforce is key.”
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TL;DR
AI’s removal of routine tasks is changing how work gets done, prompting companies to rethink roles and close new skill gaps across the workforce.
Jeanne Meister, HR Consultant and Vice Chair of Excelsior University, encourages leaders to leverage AI to identify emerging skill needs and redesign jobs around human-AI collaboration.
She says companies can close skill gaps by investing in upskilling, partnering with universities to facilitate short-term credentials, and building trust through clear AI guidelines.
Jeanne Meister
Excelsior University
Vice Chair
Vice Chair
As companies invest heavily in artificial intelligence, they’re discovering the main challenge in deriving ROI often revolves around the organization’s people rather than its technology. Nowhere is this tension clearer than in early-career roles, where automation is eliminating the very tasks that once served as foundational learning experiences. The trend is contributing to a growing professional judgment gap and raising questions about where all the entry-level jobs have gone, forcing employers to rethink how roles are defined and how employees will work alongside technology in the years to come.
Working to find creative solutions is Jeanne Meister, an Author, HR Consultant, and Vice Chair of Excelsior University. As the founder of two successfully exited HR peer network companies and a columnist for publications like Harvard Business Review, Meister has spent decades at the forefront of workplace transformation. She says the most urgent issue leaders face today is reimagining work for a new era of human-machine partnership.
“The real issue right now is redesigning jobs for entry level. Yes, there are going to be fewer workers in certain job categories most impacted by AI, like software engineering or finance and accounting or professional service, but the more immediate issue is really redesigning roles.” For HR leaders, that redesign begins with understanding how job requirements themselves are shifting.
Minding the gaps: As AI takes over routine tasks and reshapes workflows, Meister believes organizations need better visibility into the skills their workforce currently has and the ones they will soon need. “I think one of the biggest use cases of forward-thinking HR leaders is using AI to predict and close skill gaps in job roles. Without a doubt, this is the first crucial step.” Once skill gaps are identified, employers face the challenge of closing them at scale. “The next question is, how are they going to reskill this population? They can’t really handle it all themselves.”
Degrees optional: To solve the problem, she advocates for employer partnerships with colleges and universities, which can provide the credentials that prove an employee has the AI skills for today’s job market. “I think this is the moment for higher education to rethink their role in providing short-term credentials and certificates, which will help employers and attract a wider audience.” Meister, who authored a book on corporate education and training, says upskilling partnerships are especially relevant at a time when a growing number of organizations are moving toward skills-based hiring. “You don’t need a four-year degree to be considered for a really good job at a Fortune 500 company. You just need to show a credential.”
Meister believes the timing is right for such a move as the higher education industry faces disruption of its own amid declining enrollment. “There’s a demographic cliff where there are just fewer babies being born, which means fewer students to go to college,” she explains. That shift is pushing universities to rethink how they engage with employers and adult learners alike. Shorter credential programs, certificates, and workforce-focused training offer institutions a way to stay relevant while helping companies reskill employees faster than traditional degree programs allow. “Whether they like it or not, universities are going to have to develop proactive partnerships with employers in their local area, and this is the time to do it,” Meister says.
Adoption vs. anxiety: Proactive upskilling can also address AI anxiety, which is another hurdle organizations are navigating. Meister sees technology-driven fears manifest in two ways. “There’s this fear of, ‘if I use AI a lot and tell my manager, does that mean my job is more likely to be automated?’ So that’s the one side of the fear.” The other, she says, is proving AI fluency in a market that depends on it. “A whole host of companies beyond the technology field are now saying you have to be fluent and literate in AI in order to get hired, keep your job, and be considered for a promotion.”
Clarity drives adoption: When employees understand which skills will remain valuable and which new capabilities they need to develop, she says, they’re far more likely to experiment with AI rather than avoid it. “Transparency really addresses both the fear factor and the hesitancy because now people have clarity as to what skills they need to be employable.”
Meister notes that none of this works without trust. Solving the CEO’s ROI challenge means looking beyond the technology and toward building an ethical foundation that makes the workforce feel safe enough to engage. “There need to be guardrails and guidelines communicated so that there’s a clear strategic vision of how AI fits into the company and what the company will and won’t do.” The return on AI investment, she says, is enabled by a return on trust. “For the CEO who has invested a huge amount of money in AI and needs to scale it, building and maintaining trust with the workforce is key.”