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WorkingNation’s Jane Oates writes about the future of work for ACT

Jane Oates writes for ACT that there are challenges and opportunities for workforce development in 2018.
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WorkingNation’s Executive Committee member Jane Oates was one of the featured panelists at the ACT Workforce Summit held in Austin, Texas last November and the non-profit organization has published her blog about the lessons learned from the summit.

“During the summit, I heard many stories about vibrant partnerships—business, workforce, education, economic development—and how the people within them felt they needed to learn more so they could do more. These passionate people are itching to help their communities grow and sustain a robust workforce,” the former Assistant Secretary of Employment and Training Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor writes.

Public-private partnerships have begun the work of transforming how people access skills training and career pathways to new jobs, but Oates says that there is more to be done to build upon this foundation in 2018 and beyond. She suggests four solutions for developing workforce skills that employers need for the jobs of today and the future.

  • Align training to skills demand.
  • Engage employers in the credential-building process.
  • Build pathways for all learners.
  • Agreement on skill assessments.

Oates writes that she was amazed by the discussions from employers, educators and policymakers who asked the “tough questions” about one of the most pressing issues today: ensuring Americans have the skills to compete in the job market and helping them overcome disruptions caused by automation and outsourcing.

Jane Oates (left) and leading experts at the ACT Workforce Summit 2017. Photo – ACT.

“We must remember and appreciate the hard work that has led us to where we are and why we do what we do. We must be honest with ourselves and with the public about the challenges we face in our labor market,” writes Oates. “We must point struggling folks to the best training and supports out there to sustain them along their journey while celebrating even the smallest of victories with them.”

Though there are difficult challenges ahead this year as technology transforms how we work, Oates says that there are opportunities today to meet them. She recommends that employers can do better in communicating the types of skills jobs require and increase outreach to people who do not have the means to relocate to better job markets.

Oates remains optimistic that the community which has come together to solve the skills gap will strengthen its bonds and continue the dialogue in the new year. Thank you to ACT for providing a forum where solutions–and failures–are discussed in an open and supportive environment.

To read the entire blog, click here.

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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.