Aspen Ideas Festival: Job skills for now, and the future

In an ever-shifting job market, what skills will be most useful to the workers of tomorrow?

Three experts considered their experiences in government and the private sector, tried to determine what attributes will be in high demand, then discussed them at an Aspen Ideas Festival panel on June 28, 2017.

They all agree that top priorities for employers will be training, re-training and lifelong learning. Meanwhile, workers should focus on honing their character, social skills and focus on teamwork.

"The reality for the worker in America is it's a very stressful time," said Penny Pritzker, former Commerce Secretary under President Barack Obama. The pace and ways in which the workforce has changed over the years has made it difficult for young people to get on a consistent career path.

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Part of preparing people for that struggle begins in middle school, teaching all students based on what types of workers are needed, Pritzker said.

But the idea that the learning stops when you graduate high school or college is an outdated one, said Tom Fanning, chairman, president and CEO of Southern Company. As technology continues to advance, employers should focus on offering employees the training they need to continue doing their jobs well.

There has been some progress on this point, but America is still far behind on connecting local employers with local higher education on what curriculums should include when compared to other countries, said Peter Orszag, global co-head of health care at Lazard Freres & Co. Orszag.

"The local employers should signal to the community colleges 'these are the positions we need in two years,' the community colleges should do a lot more at building up the curriculum, and the students going in know that if they do a good job, they go through that curriculum, there's a high probability of a job at the other end," Orszag said.