MARGARET SPELLINGS: AI exposes America’s broken education and workforce system

Hardly a day passes without a new headline about the potential for artificial intelligence to dramatically change the workforce and the economy. AI can write code and generate photorealistic images. Algorithms can help diagnose disease with remarkable precision. The pace of change is staggering, and the truth is, no one can say with certainty where this technology will lead or which jobs it will ultimately transform.

But here’s what we do know: change is accelerating rapidly. And America’s education and workforce systems aren’t ready.

This isn’t a new problem. Long before AI entered the conversation, our education and workforce systems were failing too many Americans.

Walk into any manufacturing plant, hospital or tech startup today, and you’ll hear the same thing: Talent is in short supply. In our schools, student achievement is shockingly low. The result is millions of Americans who are unemployed or underemployed and at risk of being left behind. For the first time in history, parents do not believe their children will be better off than they are.

What the United States has is a mismatch between workforce preparation and the jobs of today and tomorrow. What we’re missing is a national strategy to connect people to opportunity.

I’ve spent more than two decades leading education and workforce initiatives, and one lesson stands out: While our economy has evolved dramatically, our institutions have remained largely the same.

The numbers tell a compelling story: Seven in 10 employers report they cannot fill current openings. Thirty-seven million Americans have some college education but no credentials, which contributes to 50% of college graduates being underemployed one year after graduation. One in three employers say their average employee lacks the literacy skills needed to perform the job. And gaps in childcare could cost the economy as much as $329 billion over the next 10 years in lost productivity, workforce shortages, and decreased income and revenue.

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These failures predate the AI era, but AI has clarified the urgency. If we can’t reliably prepare workers for the jobs that exist today, how will we prepare them for a workforce transformed by technology we can’t yet fully imagine?

I’ve spent more than two decades leading education and workforce initiatives, and one lesson stands out: While our economy has evolved dramatically, our institutions have remained largely the same.

The answer isn’t to wait and see what happens. It’s to build a workforce and talent system that is flexible, adaptable and resilient enough to support our people and meet what comes next.

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That’s why last February, the Bipartisan Policy Center, which I lead, launched the Commission on the American Workforce. We brought together Democrats and Republicans, governors, business leaders, education leaders and others. After a year of rigorous study, we produced a blueprint. Our recommendations are built on three imperatives that address the core of America’s workforce challenge.

First, we need a coherent federal workforce policy. 

Today, federal dollars are scattered across dozens of programs, each measuring success differently. States, which are closest to employers and education providers, need a federal partner that offers coherence and clear direction. 

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We recommend establishing a Talent Advisory Council to integrate fragmented federal programs and create a shared national strategy. We have a national security strategy and an economic strategy. We also need a talent strategy — a plan for our people.

Second, we need to set students up for success. 

Students deserve clear pathways from high school through training to jobs. This means modernizing how we measure and report progress, so families have real-time data on which programs lead to jobs and good earnings.

It means high schools are redesigned to offer career tracks alongside college prep, not just college prep. It means portable credentials that employers recognize, such as manufacturing or nursing credentials. And it means navigational tools, so families understand their options: What is the cost? What is the return on investment? How long does training take? What jobs are available?

Third, we need to remove the barriers that stop people from working and learning. 

When childcare costs more than a mortgage and paid leave is nonexistent, families suffer and lose opportunity. We need affordable childcare, so parents can work and families can thrive. 

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We need paid family leave, so workers don’t have to choose between a newborn and a paycheck. We need skills savings accounts — portable, tax-advantaged tools that help workers save for training and upskilling. Similarly, new “Trump Accounts” can help families invest in and pay for educational opportunities.

Artificial intelligence and automation are transforming work faster than ever, and skill requirements are shifting in real time. Countries that move first and build integrated talent systems will attract companies and investment. We’re in a global competition. Others are making strategic investments and speeding up. The United States risks falling behind.

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Our K-12 system isn’t preparing students for adaptability and critical thinking. Our postsecondary system isn’t nimble enough to respond to changing demands. Our workforce system is fragmented. Our data is fragmented. Our support for working families is fragmented.

We must ask ourselves: Do we want to keep putting a Band-Aid on a 20th-century workforce system that isn’t built for the 21st century? Or are we finally going to do the hard work of preparing for the future?

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The Commission’s recommendations are practical, bipartisan, and doable. They require coordination and investment, but far less than the cost of inaction.

The question isn’t whether AI will change the workforce. It has, and it will continue to do so. The question is whether we will be ready. Right now, we’re not. But we can be — if we’re willing to act.

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