The future of America’s workforce is being shaped by several factors, including declining birth rates, changing skills requirements, and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), according to Darren Brooks, a senior lecturer and assistant chair in the Department of Management at Florida State University’s College of Business.
Brooks points out that while employers are adding jobs and investing in new technologies, they continue to face challenges finding skilled talent. The aging workforce population—driven by Baby Boomers working longer—means younger generations will eventually become the majority in the labor force. However, this shift could lead to a skills gap.
“AI will have a significant impact on how we work that may involve the elimination of some types of jobs currently performed by humans,” Brooks said. “However, at the same time new opportunities for work will emerge. This divide between dystopian catastrophe and utopian world of hyper productivity have dominated a lot of the writings and media attention. I take the view that with every technological evolution, being forward thinking and adaptive to inevitable changes are the best ways to deal with change in work or any other aspect of our lives.”
Brooks explained that AI’s introduction into both professional and personal spheres brings positive and negative effects. He noted that while all types of work will be affected by AI, roles involving routine tasks—such as those in technology fields or service positions like call centers—are most susceptible to automation. In contrast, jobs requiring social skills, creativity, complex decision-making, empathy, management fundamentals, skilled trades, systems thinking, and domain expertise are less likely to be replaced by machines.
He also emphasized the importance of training programs for young people entering the workforce. Brooks said reskilling and upskilling are essential for adapting to changes brought about by AI adoption across organizations. He advocates for educational institutions—including universities and high schools—to teach students relevant AI-related abilities alongside traditional human skills so they can adapt as job demands evolve.
“Training is an essential partnership between employees, organizations, educational and vocational institutions today and even more for the future. In fact, the term reskilling and upskilling continues to be utilized in both academic research and popular media, and for good reasons. Millions of jobs will be affected by AI in some way or another. Over the next few years, as companies figure out ways to scale AI across organizational domains, more jobs will be impacted. Training and development play a key in moving employees from the replaceable job categories to the augmenting jobs,” Brooks said.
He added: “Students and working professionals alike should be developing AI skills related to their field but also build skills that have utility across the organization. Another way to contemplate this is to think about the portability of skills. Schools such as higher education institutions, high schools etc., should teach students the right AI skills alongside traditional human skills to prepare them for shifts in work… re-skilling and up-skilling are shared responsibilities between employers and employees.”
Reflecting on his experience over three decades in business education and management consulting roles spanning both private- and public-sector organizations (including his current position coordinating FSU’s MBA program), Brooks observed major changes in workplace skill needs driven largely by advances in technology—from mainframes toward cloud computing—and communication tools.
He believes investment priorities should focus on helping workers develop versatile skill sets rather than narrow specializations vulnerable to automation: “If policymakers, business leaders… find value in [the] human capacity… then investments into developing worker skills… would be a top priority… Investments should be made in [the] next generation [to] accelerate skill development [and] expand access beyond traditional pathways… preparing workers for a world… prioritizing what I refer to as skill interoperability across [an] organization than rigid jobs defined by narrow job descriptions.”
For media interested in discussing these topics further with Darren Brooks regarding strategies for navigating America’s evolving workforce landscape amid rapid technological change—including contact information—the university encourages reaching out via dbrooks@business.fsu.edu.
