At the Business Innovations for the Future of Work summit in Philadelphia, experts explored how workplaces across all industries are evolving.
Bryan Auguste, CEO of nonprofit social enterprise [email protected], discussed how the opportunity gap is a real issue in the workforce. In order to build an inclusive workforce, Auguste suggests investment over selection, performance over pedigree and human capital over “invested capital.”
Auguste also suggested that employers should remove college degree requirements as the need for a four-year college degree has become greatly exaggerated in the workforce.
Additionally, full stack engineer Shenae Simmons said that when she was applying for jobs, she found that many applications came with unrealistic time frames and required unnecessary skills.
“Women think that if they don’t have 95 percent of the skills that are listed in the job, they won’t apply for it,” said Simmons. “So it’s basically just reconfirming the process of like only men applying.”
Jessica Collazo, assistant program officer at LISC Philadelphia, said that one of the standout moments for her was when IBM senior program manager Charlotte Lysohir pointed out how resumes are a reflection of privilege over anything else, and that there should be a new system in place when exploring the talent landscape.
Moreover, companies are leaning more into offering ex-offenders jobs, such as Goodwill’s Ex-Offender Program.
“We can do lots of training, and we can do lots of other kinds of development, but the bottom line is that people really need jobs,” said Audrey Williams-Lee, senior vice president of HR for Hyatt Hotels Corporation, who is focused on getting people more job opportunities.
