Jobs are changing. What does this really mean on a practical level for employers? Which jobs are changing? What is the new timeline for change in a post-pandemic world? And what do employers need to know to prepare their workforce and to close that skills gap?

A variety of educational models are now available to help address the skills gap caused by new technologies. From college degrees to micro-credentials, what do business leaders and workers need to know when choosing the right training to stay competitive?

Technology is outpacing today’s workforce. But many organizations have already made significant investments in their workforces, which are quickly falling behind as the skills gap expands. So, what does it take to upskill an existing workforce, and what are the benefits and challenges of doing so? 

Millions of new workers will be entering the workforce over the next few years. How do we ensure that these younger workers are entering the pipeline with the right skills for a highly diverse tech workforce? And how do we build tech literacy in our future workers? 

Our speakers return to dive more deeply into the topics of upskilling and training the current and future workforces. 

Amidst a technological ecosystem delivering rising productivity, and an economy generating plenty of jobs (at least until the COVID-19 crisis), we find a labor market in which the fruits are so unequally distributed, that the majority of workers have tasted only a tiny morsel of a vast harvest. The MIT Work of the Future Task Force explores the relationships between emerging technologies and work, to help shape public discourse around realistic expectations of technology, and to explore strategies to enable a future of shared prosperity.

The rapid onset of hybrid local and remote work has forced us to rethink the future of the physical office. Which factors should we consider as we re-evaluate workforce real-estate? How do we create seamlessly integrated in-person and virtual environments that enable productive “me spaces” and collaborative “we spaces”?

With the widescale normalization of remote work, what digital infrastructure is needed to support tomorrow’s in-person, hybrid, and remote workers? We’ll examine the future of smart workspaces and the technologies that will connect and enable a distributed workforce.

New technologies and tools can radically change what we can achieve together. We take an inside look at new and emerging technologies that could enhance the way we work and the work we do. 

Is your organization grappling with how to best establish permanent remote or hybrid work models to meet the evolving needs of employees post-pandemic? This session examines the benefits and challenges inherent with virtual and hybrid work and evaluates the lasting implications. Draw from industry expert Tsedal Neeley’s decades of experience to gain practical, evidence-based answers to the most pressing questions.

How can leaders capitalize on momentum gained in 2020 and continue to evolve workforce strategies? Join Deloitte and industry leaders, as they explore workforce ecosystems – a strategic approach to rethinking standard enterprise talent models. Hear about new methods to accessing and managing workers, and step through new research findings on the implications for workforce management.

The pandemic gave a rare opportunity to discard, inefficient systems and workflows and build new ones. But where to start? How can principles of good UX design help to better organize teams or reinvent workflows? What can we learn about productivity and collaboration that companies could adopt, whether in-person or remote?

As many organizations contemplate a return to the office, others are reimagining workforce solutions. Learning from the past year, how do we effectively evaluate and pivot in this early stage of post-pandemic workplace transformation? What key opportunities and obstacles need to be considered and addressed to successfully transition from vision to implementation in a work from anywhere model?

After several decades of sluggish productivity, the digital economy is creating new opportunities that are largely fueled by AI and emerging technology innovations. How are we measuring productivity growth and what are we actually measuring that businesses can use to get ahead? And where do gig workers fit into the digital economy?

The productivity of humans and machines, when paired together, is greater than what either could achieve alone. We peek around the corner to explore new developments in robotics and how human-robotic work teams will become essential elements of a future workforce.

Highly regulated, high volume, and high risk. The healthcare industry is slow to change, balancing new technology with ethical implementation. Yet, the industry has consistently succeeded in using technology to advance patient care and productivity. What lessons learned in this environment can serve as productivity prescriptions for organizations across all industries?

Find out how new innovation coming from MIT.nano’s Immersion Lab is making it possible for our physical homes to sense vibrations and track patterns of movement in order to monitor health. And learn how the very same technology is impacting the safety and productivity of workers on assembly lines.

With human-centered innovation people’s needs come first. It translates into enabling more sustainable, accessible, easy to use products while keeping in mind human needs throughout the process of creating these products. Digitalization is key to achieving human-centered innovation and applying AI to optimize everything from the design, materials, connectivity to the manufacturing process and closing the loop from the experience of the user to the designer's desktop.

AI is creating new opportunities in manufacturing through intelligent automation, services, tracking, and training. What do these AI advances entail for line workers? How else might AI continue to change manufacturing? And how does this translate across industries?

AI is transforming the future of brick-and-mortar retail as organizations bring new technology into their physical and digital spaces. From small shops to superstores, how is AI impacting and automating the shopping experience and the retail workforce?  

In the health-first era, public health and business must forge ahead together for our economy and society to thrive. As organizations shape new operating models for the post-pandemic economy, protecting the health and well-being of employees, partners, and customers is a top priority. In this presentation, Dr. Joseph Allen, associate professor of exposure assessment science at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Director of the Harvard Healthy Buildings Program will discuss how to create smarter, safer buildings that meaningfully mitigate risk and actually improve the health and productivity of the people inside them. 

With the economy in recovery, we examine how technology and good decisions can lead to generating future prosperity with reduced resources. 

Hubert Joly has been credited with leading one of the most stunning turnarounds in decades as he pulled Best Buy back from the brink and built it into a thriving and healthy organization. Get a first-hand look at the playbook for reinvention and recovery to achieve a sustainable and productive future through innovation.