The Future of Work Won’t Wait. Neither Should We.
We spend a considerable amount of time worrying about the future of work, whether it’s AI stealing our jobs or preparing for roles that don't yet exist. However, while we debate what might happen years from now, we overlook a challenge that's already present: the growing disconnect between what people are learning and what employers need today.
The Current Challenge: The Skills Gap
This skills gap isn’t theoretical or a manufactured talking point. By all accounts, the economy should be working, with job openings and no shortage of capable, motivated people ready to step into them. However, the balance is still off because too often the skills that people have don’t match what employers need right now, leading to stalled careers, slower innovation, and industries that struggle to keep pace with their communities.
Bridging the Skills Gap Through Real-World Learning Experiences
There is a clear path forward, one grounded in learning experiences that intentionally connect education to real-world practice, such as apprenticeships, clinical rotations, residencies, and other earn-and-learn models that have long helped learners transition from theory to practical application, enabling them to apply their skills in real-world settings. Employers themselves increasingly validate that approach: according to WGU’s 2025 Workforce Decoded report, 78% of employers say work experience is equal to or more valuable than a degree, yet only 37% believe higher education is adequately preparing students with the skills needed to succeed. With nearly 40% of core workplace skills expected to shift by 2030, we’re no longer preparing people for static job descriptions; instead, we are preparing them for work that will continue to evolve throughout their careers.
That reality means learning can't happen in isolation. It happens best when learners build skills alongside employers and community partners, allowing them to gain confidence and clarity about where their talents add value. In contrast, employers gain team members who understand the cultural pace and expectations of the job from day one. These pathways don't just prepare people for work; they expand opportunity for working learners, students, parents, and career changers who can't afford unpaid experience or additional debt.
Collaborative Efforts to Better Serve Students and Local Economies
Recently, in Long Beach, WGU and Long Beach Community College (LBCC) leaders collaborated to remove financial and structural barriers for students, enabling them to advance to the next step in their educational careers. They created the $50,000 Grow Long Beach Grant, which provides up to $3,000 in support to local learners transferring to WGU for bachelor’s programs in healthcare, education, business, and technology. This targeted support intends to help bridge the gap between starting and finishing,while also increasing the velocity of talent identification and development. The initiative wasn't a sweeping reform or a bold headline; it was a practical adjustment designed around real life, and that is where the most significant impact often occurs.
However, scaling this approach requires more than just good intentions. It requires educators, employers, and policymakers to work together to align curriculum with workforce needs, expand experience-rich learning, and treat applied education as essential infrastructure for economic resilience, not as an optional add-on.
Through initiatives like California’s High Road Training Partnership and the Golden State Teacher Grant, we’ve seen what’s possible when those systems align. Through grants and partner collaborations, we’ve created no-cost pathways for paraeducators and school staff to earn degrees and teaching credentials while continuing to serve their communities. By reconnecting learners who were close to finishing but sidelined by life, with partner districts and flexible, competency-based education, they can graduate with real classroom experience, an accredited degree, and a credential in hand, at a time when teacher shortages are hitting rural and low-income communities the hardest. The High Road Training Grant, which launched in June 2024, now has 118 graduates who are eligible to teach in the communities where they live and thrive.
These outcomes exemplify what happens when education aligns with the demands of the workforce. When systems are designed around people, rather than forcing individuals to navigate the gap between learning and work on their own, we know these models are effective and can scale.
The Call to Action: Working Together to Make Experience-Rich Learning the Norm
The real question is whether we’re willing to make experience-rich learning the standard rather than the exception. If we’re serious about building a workforce that’s inclusive, adaptable, and ready for whatever the next decade brings, then the time to act is now. The talent already exists. Our responsibility is to ensure that opportunities keep pace with our needs.
