I am optimistic in making skills the focal point of the Job Futures platform.
There is practically a unanimous agreement for using skills in workforce development by the leading management consultants (KPMG, McKinsey, Deloitte, Boston Consulting, etc.) – all released recent publications suggesting skills for training, learning, and building our workforce. Some actually use the term “skills based approach” verbatim.
With Job Futures, one goal is to use Skills Based Approach methodology for post-secondary to prepare for the jobs.
Many reputable think-tanks (World Economic Forum, HBR, Strada Education, Pew Research, CEW-Georgetown) produce annual surveys where industry leaders advise– use skills in higher education and training to address “skills gaps”. Regarding longevity, this is a reoccurring theme, year to year.
What sets the Job Futures proposal apart from the competition (or any floating ideas) is forecasting skills and using Skill Points and other measurements to quantify them with the use of a Job Label.
Major companies are investing significantly in the use of skills in all areas of their business and skills are at the core of their products and services. (From a brief sample, companies I reviewed for a valuation) Microsoft (LinkedIn), IBM, Recruit (Indeed), the term “skills” is mentioned on average 10 time in the management section of their most recent annual reports. Some explicitly state “building skills” based platforms is a primary goal of their company.
For each of these companies and many like them, there are Job Label Templates (a cursory component to a Job Future) for their current job listings.
Going into 2025, workforce trends indicate that skills are the right medium and Job Futures are an important priority:
As much as 1 in 5 jobs advertised are jobs companies have no intention of filling (Greenhouse, WSJ).
A Job Futures sets accountability with a threshold and maturation period.
Companies like Google, Nvidia, Meta, and Microsoft set the bar high for candidates – complete a range of technical assessments, interviews, and problem solving exercises designed to test the limits of their expertise.
Complete a range of the technical assessments during the Job Future, before a job posts, let students and educators assess their own candidacy along with employers while they are learning and posses the post secondary resources to pivot.
Of the nearly 6 in 10 concerned about starting their careers, most (63%) cite stiff competition for jobs as their reasons for outlook. (LinkedIn).
Use Job Futures to start targeting jobs precisely and earlier. This should make the process less aggravating and effective.
On average, it now takes people about six months to find a job (Labor Department). For employers it takes around 60 days to hire a candidate.
Job Futures should create efficiencies in both situations: sending 200+ resumes on a job board after graduation is ineffective; and employers should have streamlined and narrowed a talent pool during the Job Future, before the job posts.