3 Talent Leaders Predict How AI Will Advance Skills-First Hiring

Over the past year, generative AI and skills-first hiring have been among the hottest topics in the talent world. They’re so zeitgeist-y that every time Aneesh Raman, head of LinkedIn’s Opportunity Project, interviewed a talent or learning leader, he asked them how AI would change the world of work — and their replies often hit upon skills-first hiring. 

That’s not surprising, considering that Aneesh interviewed some of the biggest names in the field, including Byron Auguste, CEO and cofounder of Opportunity@Work; Gerald Chertavian, founder of and senior advisor at Year Up; and Sara Dionne, vice president of learning and development at Comcast. It’s also in keeping with the Opportunity Project’s mission of creating a more dynamic and equitable global labor market. 

But these leaders’ answers were so compelling, we wanted to share them with our readers. Here’s what they had to say. 

Byron Auguste: AI will help reset the rules 

As head of Opportunity@Work, Byron is a tireless champion for STARs, workers who are Skilled Through Alternative Routes. These are the 70 million U.S. workers who do not have a four-year degree but have obtained skills in other ways, whether through community college, an apprenticeship, the military, a certificate program, or perhaps most importantly, on-the-job training. They have skills that are highly valued at many companies — but they’re screened out nonetheless for lack of a college degree. 

That’s where AI can play a role. “In a way, AI doesn’t fundamentally change the problem I’m trying to solve,” Byron told Aneesh, “but it does change the way we have to go about it, and it probably changes the speed at which we need to go about it.”

Byron emphasized that as AI tools proliferate, our intentions matter more than ever. “While AI-turbocharged ‘screening out,’ is a legitimate fear,” he said, "imagine if our intention was to screen more talent in.” AI can be used to “reset the rules” to make overlooked talent more visible and workplace opportunity more equitable.

Smart companies could deploy AI to screen-in candidates based on their skills, instead of excluding them for lack of a degree. “The ability to see that full spectrum of skills and adapt it to a company’s needs is incredibly powerful,” Byron said, “and if that’s what we choose to do with AI, we’ll make huge progress much faster than we have over the last few years.”

He added that this is particularly crucial at a time when many industries face persistent labor shortages. STARs have “measurable skills,” Byron said, and if companies start using AI to assess candidates based on their skills, “they could actually solve most of their talent problems.” 

Gerald Chertavian: AI will be the catalyst for systemic change 

Through Year Up, Gerald has also worked endlessly to advocate for high school graduates and young adults with GEDs, ages 18 to 29, who lack a four-year degree — but still have plenty of skills. 

“I think AI is absolutely the catalyst that will make skills-first hiring a reality,” Gerald told Aneesh. He predicted that the workplace will undergo a transformative period of “norming and storming” as a new AI reality unfolds. He also compared it to when electricity was introduced. “People just stopped the water wheel and plugged in an electric cord, but they didn’t change their process, so the productivity gain was limited,” Gerald explained. “AI is going to require us to rethink processes and how we go about doing some of these things.”

To create the kind of systemic change Gerald envisions, communities will have to work together. “We need communities of practice,” he said, “sharing what they’re doing and working together on it, to build this movement.”

At the same time, Gerald added, “higher education will be forced to rethink the value proposition it provides,” and universities and colleges will need to evolve to meet the needs of learners.

“But I’m pretty bullish and optimistic,” he said, “on how AI will help our society going forward. We could see meritocracy in our time. It’s been attempted but never achieved.” 

Sara Dionne: AI will make hiring (and learning) more transparent 

Sara, the Comcast CLO, predicted that AI will bring a newfound transparency to the labor market. “What’s so powerful about what’s happening right now,” she said, “is that the labor market has traditionally been one of the most opaque markets ever. It’s guesswork across it all.”

Sara said that companies could use AI to clearly outline the skills needed for each role — and then share this information with candidates and employees. Armed with this knowledge, workers could chart career paths and gain the skills they need.

All of which segues into Sara’s wish for the future: “Can you imagine,” she asked Aneesh, “if, once employees or candidates knew they needed a skill, generative AI was immediately there to work with them and within 10 minutes they could acquire a new skill, practice it, and they’re out the door?” 

Sara’s wish also dovetails with the idea of skills as a currency. “L&D can give you that currency,” she said. “We’re like a bank: C’mon in. We can give you the currency and allow you those opportunities to gain those skills. It’s not as complicated as it used to feel.”

Final thoughts: A little work upfront can yield benefits later

Of course, for AI to boost skills-first hiring, companies may need to do some work up front. First, they need to train AI to assess the skills needed for each job. Then they need to look objectively at the skills candidates and employees possess. “I think for the people who want to stick with what’s easy,” Byron said, “it’s going to get hard later. But if you do the hard work now, it’s going to get really easy and fun and successful later.” 

He added that while it may seem risky to go first with AI, it’s actually riskier to go last. “Change management is hard,” Byron said. “But the companies that get this right are, frankly, going to beat the companies that don’t.”