Members of an ARIZONA@WORK committee this week stressed the importance of training with artificial intelligence among the key skills workers should have when applying to jobs.
During its Tuesday meeting, the Phoenix Business and Workforce Development Board National Model for Mobility Steering Committee approved seven core categories of competencies for workforce training.
The list was the result of collaborating with both employer focus groups and workforce training groups.
“This is the culmination of lots and lots and lots of different entities having similar conversations… and so this is really a good summation of the work that is bringing lots of feedback,” said Committee Member Anne Landers, chief operating officer of the nonprofit Junior Achievement Arizona.
Some members pointed out a key topic not listed among the seven core categories: artificial intelligence.
“I mean, it’s changing entry-level work considerably. Let alone the mid-level or the higher-level skills,” said Committee Member Raghu Santanam, Senior Associate Dean in Arizona State University’s W. P. Carey School of Business.
Members noted that one of the seven core categories is Technology Proficiency, but some questioned whether AI should be stated as its own separate topic.
Ultimately, committee members approved the list of core categories after seeing that “Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals” was listed among the subcategories — not under Technology Proficiency, but under Adaptability and Growth.
The logo for OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, appears on a mobile phone, in New York, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023.
(The Associated Press/Richard Drew)
Santanam and Committee Member Alison Rapping, CEO of the Arouet Foundation, each said familiarity with AI will factor into many other skills on the list, such as Communication and Interpersonal Skills and Critical Thinking and Problem Solving.
Kristin Emery, director of state and local government affairs for Microsoft, said it will be important to stress that AI does not need to be a replacement of the workforce but rather an enhancement of proficiency. She planned to send data supporting that point to the committee to potentially use in educational materials.
Committee Member Scott Holman, vice president of human resources at Amkor Technology Arizona, said it was an “important clarification.”
Now that the committee approved the seven core categories, Holman said the next step is to test them in a “real world setting, “which will be using them in training with apprenticeship cohorts of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. The training will be done in partnership with Maricopa Community Colleges and the nonprofit job training group Year Up United Arizona.
The goal in testing the seven core categories will be to see if this method is more effective in preparing job seekers for the needs of employers in the region than existing training programs.
We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org. Mark Carlisle can be reached at mcarlisle@iniusa.org.
Mark Carlisle
Associate Editor | Phoenix
mcarlisle@iniusa.org
Meet Mark
Mark Carlisle joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2017, covering Glendale. He has since moved to the Daily Independent team, primarily covering the city of Phoenix along with other topics affecting the Valley at-large.
Community: Mark enjoys taking his two young sons to parks, the Phoenix Zoo, the Phoenix Public Library and other fun events around the Valley. He also participates in a local book club.
Education: Chapman University with a BA in English Journalism and one in Screenwriting.
Random Fact: Mark worked at a tuxedo shop in college. Just don’t ask him to tie a bowtie.
Hobbies: Spending time with his wife, sons and dog, watching sports and TV shows, listening to audiobooks and occasionally writing fiction or designing a board game.
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