Fresh off a $145 million push to expand federal registered apprenticeships and close skills gaps, the U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) chief innovation officer has a message for young workers: Embrace artificial intelligence (AI).
The United States is locked in an AI race with China that is dependent on the U.S. workforce becoming adept at AI and closing current skills gaps, Taylor Stockton, DoL CIO, said Thursday at CES in Las Vegas.
To get there, Stockton said that the DoL is following guidance from the White House’s AI Action Plan to improve the livelihood of the American workforce and build on economics opportunities created by AI.
“We don’t buy into some of the fear mongering and sensationalism about mass job loss – but there will be some impact,” Stockton said. “So how do we not try to stop that impact but [instead] think proactively about the types of rapid reskilling models that we can have to really make sure that even if individuals are impacted by AI in their roles, they have pathways to even better jobs in the economy.”
Stockton’s encouragement for young workers to embrace AI-driven opportunities comes on the heels of a $145 million investment announced by the DoL last week to expand federal registered apprenticeships per directives from the White House.
Registered apprenticeships have historically been used to help fill the federal cyber and IT workforce, though not all registered apprenticeships are related to technology.
Under President Donald Trump’s orders, the DoL must fill more than 1 million active apprenticeships nationwide, while using a pay-for-performance model. Apprenticeships will be driven by partnerships with program sponsors, employers, unions, and national and regional industry groups.
The DoL is also looking to break down silos across stakeholders in workforce development, Stockton added, noting that the department thinks “that interoperability and unification of that strategy is really important in this age of AI.”
“I think there’s this narrative right now, especially for kids thinking about going to the workforce, that they should be fearful of AI … There’s a lot of risks, and let’s be clear, there should be the right guardrails, but I think there’s such an opportunity to shift the societal narrative around AI and work from a narrative of fear to a narrative of optimism,” Stockton said.
“Because the kids these days that are growing up and thinking about the workforce, they are the ones that are going to have the opportunity to build these AI agents … and if we give them the skills and support and the pathways … they can access those,” he continued.
A recent congressional report estimated 100 million job losses due to AI over the next decade. Jobs most likely to be impacted include fast food and counter workers, customer service representatives, accountants, and truck drivers.