Technical leaders have quickly plashed that their AI companies can cause considerable unemployment in one day. But Goodwill's CEO Steve Preston says it is already happening.
The charity, which has more than 650 job centers, saw more than 2 million people use their employment services last year – and it is preparing for even more.
“We are preparing for a flux of unemployed young people – as well as other people – from AI,” the CEO said exclusively FortuneAdding that automation will become the worst roles of low wages and entry level.
The 65-year-old, who previously served the 14th of the United States of Housing and Urban Development, revealed that he is already witnessing “Large organizations that are starting to make important dismissals based on a switch to AI.”
On call centers and sales roles are currently becoming particularly difficult, he added. “I don't know it will be catastrophic, but I think we will see a significant reduction in a number of jobs. I think it will hit hard.”
Although people of all ages have lower paying jobs, they are often a transition ritual for students with a new face that start in the world of work.
“It is much more difficult to find a job, Preston adds.” It is now really from students on the market. It really affects young adults without university diplomas. “
Genniet grads are the heaviest affected by unemployment but they will not be the only one affected
Despite countless reports that warn that the payment of higher education is dead, thanks to more inclusive skills-based recruitment, it no longer makes sense to obtain a diploma and Gen Zers without anyone wins the Talent War-Preston sees the opposite.
“What I see is of general unemployment, people without a university diploma have no jobs,” he said. Research has shown that the problem is even more acute for young men.
“That's a terrible thing,” said Preston, sympathizing with young people about how crucial it is to see a world where they can grow and thrive. “For young people at the time in their lives, to attach themselves to something where they can see a future, is so important, where they can imagine their lives in the future.”
And as AI and automation become smarter, they will ultimately also find the countries that first job becomes increasingly impossible and according to Preston, that will also have a domino effect on more senior roles.
It is not only AI could replace much of those mid-level rolls, but also that there could be a lack of suitable talent due to the pipeline.
“Those entry rolling were the places where they learned the basis of a job-where they built core skills, where they had the chance to be guided and grew up in the organization,” he explained.
Gen ZZ -students are already struggling with being unprepared for the world of work due to a lack of opportunities for work experience, such as internships, and that problem is only becoming more exuberant thanks to AI.
The most important skills needed for the next generation of job seekers
Instead of being drowned out by the technical wave, Preston advises young people to drive on it. He said goodwill often talks to employers to find out which skills will actually be needed tomorrow.
“Digital skills are really crucial,” he added. “We often think that if someone is on their phone all day and has 15 apps open at all times, has great digital skills, but it's a completely different thing.”
Although your Tiktok operating game may be strong, Preston said that young people really have to control the workplaces of the technical tools that actually use, from Microsoft Excel to Google documents.
“We consistently discover that if people get a certain level of achieving digital skills, the door is open – and many people we assume that those skills are not.” The next step is to learn how to use chatgpt and gemini.
“Increasingly, no surprise, people who are skilled in the use of AI tools are starting to jump other people to the market.”
In the meantime, he suggested not going to the business career path for Gen Zers who do not want to go, such as the maintenance of the charging station of the solar panel and the maintenance of the solar panel, because they do not have growth areas without a diploma.
And Preston has a grim warning for millennials that refuse to adjust: “If you are someone looking for a job in your thirty – or even 40s – and you have not acquired those skills, you are almost locked up from a huge percentage of the jobs available on the market”.
“When those people get those skills, we just see the doors burst open,” he added. “I can come up with two women from the top of my head, who are from homeless to jobs in Accenture and Google went, after extensive digital boot camps … it's never too late.”
This story was originally visible on Fortune.com
