2023 Michael H. Kelly

‘Technological advancements will impact every job, requiring most workers to participate to some degree in training to adjust.’

Reflections on The Future of Work 2023 from WorkingNation Advisory Board member Michael H. Kelly
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We asked our WorkingNation Advisory Board to share their thoughts on the most important issues and challenges facing the workforce and the labor market in the coming year.

Michael H. Kelly is the executive director of the nonprofit Los Angeles Coalition for the Economy & Jobs, dedicated to ensuring a path for economic growth and the creation and retention of quality jobs in the greater Los Angeles region.

Here are some of his thoughts on The Future of Work 2023.

“Technological advancements will alter or automate entire occupational categories at a faster pace than seen historically, creating both opportunities and challenges for L.A. County, now and in the future.

The good news is that these breakthroughs may lead to the replacement of low-skill, low-paying jobs with higher-skill, higher-paying jobs that are more rewarding to individuals and beneficial to the regional economy. 

Rapid change will also require many workers to reskill at least once in their careers, placing strain on both individuals and workforce development stakeholders. The public workforce development system and the institutions it collaborates with to deliver training are not designed or funded to effectively reskill an unprecedented level of displaced workers for new work. 

The community college system is poised to play the most extensive role in reskilling workers given the characteristics of those likely to be displaced due to technological change and the types of occupations for which they will prepare. Nonprofits, industry trade associations, and union apprenticeship programs will continue to play an essential role in reskilling, but they lack the scale and organization of the community college system.

The community college system is best placed to mobilize employers in the development and tailoring of CTE programs that meet their needs. Employers vary dramatically in their talent ‘supply chain’ mindset in which they proactively reach out to academic institutions to build programs.

According to the Accenture middle-skills survey, close to half of U.S. companies do not collaborate with any community or technical colleges, and less than half partner with any community-based organizations. Therefore, community colleges need to be proactive in rounding up employers at various stages of talent development maturity to understand their training needs.”

You can read more of Kelly’s thoughts on how a community can – and must – work together to reskill workers here.

You can read all The Future of Work 2023 articles from our WorkingNation Advisory Board here.

Dana Beth Ardi

Executive Committee

Dana Beth Ardi, PhD, Executive Committee, is a thought leader and expert in the fields of executive search, talent management, organizational design, assessment, leadership and coaching. As an innovator in the human capital movement, Ardi creates enhanced value in companies by matching the most sought after talent with the best opportunities. Ardi coaches boards and investors on the art and science of building high caliber management teams. She provides them with the necessary skills to seek out and attract top-level management, to design the ideal organizational architectures and to deploy people against strategy. Ardi unearths the way a business works and the most effective way for people to work in them.

Ardi is an experienced business executive and senior consultant who leverages business organizational transformation through talent strategies. She uses her knowledge and experience to develop talent strategies to enhance revenue and profit contributions. She has a deep expertise in change management and organizational effectiveness and has designed and built high performance cultures. Ardi has significant experience in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, IPO’s and turnarounds.

Ardi is an expert on the multi-generational workforce. She understands the four intersecting generations of workers coming together in contemporary companies, each with their own mindsets, leadership and communications styles, values and motivations. Ardi is sought after to assist companies manage and thrive by bringing the generations together. Her book, Fall of the Alphas: How Beta Leaders Win Through Connection, Collaboration and Influence, will be published by St. Martin’s Press. The book reflects Ardi’s deep expertise in understanding organizations and our changing society. It focuses on building a winning culture, how companies must grow and evolve, and how talent influences and shapes communities of work. This is what she has coined “Corporate Anthropology.” It is a playbook on how modern companies must meet challenges – culturally, globally, digitally, across genders and generations.

Ardi is currently the Managing Director and Founder of Corporate Anthropology Advisors, LLC, a consulting company that provides human capital advisory and innovative solutions to companies building value through people. Corporate Anthropology works with organizations, their cultures, the way they grow and develop, and the people who are responsible for forming their communities of work.

Prior to her position at Corporate Anthropology Advisors, Ardi served as a Partner/Managing Director at the private equity firms CCMP Capital and JPMorgan Partners. She was a partner at Flatiron Partners, a venture capital firm working with early state companies where she pioneered the human capital role within an investment portfolio.

Ardi holds a BS from the State University of New York at Buffalo as well as a Masters degree and PhD from Boston College. She started her career as professor at the Graduate Center at Fordham University in New York.