In an AI-driven Labor Market, Inclusion is Key

How are today’s leading changemakers equipping young talent for an AI-driven labor market? In March, President Vilas Dhar of The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation was joined by Dr. Brandon Nicholson, the CEO of The Hidden Genius Project, and Dr. Jonah Edelman, the co-founder and Executive Officer of Stand for Children to engage with this very question. According to Dr. Nicholson, the key is to “anchor on what our young people love and what gets them out of bed every day.”

Both men lead organizations committed to shining a light on the unique creativity and aspirations of Black communities and building a future that celebrates diversity and representation, instead of stifling it. With his team at The Hidden Genius Project, Dr. Nicholson creates programs to nurture the innate talents and genius of young Black boys and men through tech, leadership, and entrepreneurial skills training. Dr. Edelman, in addition to his efforts to improve early literacy outcomes for children in underserved school districts, co-founded the Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT) certification program to boost racial equity at work, reduce racial wealth disparities, and ensure Black communities can access advancement opportunities and networks for career growth. Here are a few takeaways from the discussion:

➡️ Start from an assets-based framework. Before engaging in workforce development, upskilling, or reskilling for an AI era, it’s critical for leaders to identify the unique genius and potential of the participants. Dr. Nicholson notes that young Black individuals have already been leading the tech ecosystem, creating solutions and pathways for their community and others. (Check out this recent article about Will.I.Am’s AI host aimed at increasing representation in tech). By shining a light on these achievements and creating space for new ones, The Hidden Genius Project is helping to ensure a more inclusive AI future that better represents Black communities at the forefront of innovation.

➡️ Prioritize community ownership of programs and solutions. Both leaders emphasize community agency in their programs. At The Hidden Genius Project, Dr. Nicholson and his team are piloting tools like the Genius Lab – a “youth-centered, project-based platform” for computer science, entrepreneurship, and software development skills building – designed with and for communities of color. At Stand for Children, Dr. Edelman is paving pathways for community insights and experiences to drive policy decisions that support long-term equity in education.

➡️ Incorporate ongoing, holistic support grounded in community history, traditions, and context.Preparing young people to excel in a rapidly evolving labor market requires more than just hard skills training. At The Hidden Genius Project, students and alumni are offered holistic services including coding and programming classes, culturally relevant and trauma-informed support, and access to coaching, mentorship, and networks that empower participants to grow as leaders, technologists, and entrepreneurs in an AI-driven world. It’s also critical that the workplaces evolve to provide a more inclusive environment for employees of color, a critical outcome of the MLT Black and Hispanic Equity at Work certification.

➡️ Build partnerships with decision-makers who can help scale your impact. Many policy and investment decisions are made without consulting the practitioners and communities at the forefront of impact. By forging partnerships with decision-makers at all levels, translating insights from the community grassroots level to the policy level, and prioritizing “purposeful, strategic, and persistent” engagement with unlikely allies and collaborators, Dr. Edelman notes that practitioners can become changemakers poised to transform not only our institutions, but also society at large.

The emerging role of AI in the workplace is a wake-up call for us all. How is your team working to build more inclusive and future-forward spaces for professional growth and shared progress?

Rewatch the full episode here! https://www.linkedin.com/events/celebratinggeniuspotential7163948215938080768/theater/