#63: Workforce Risk – On Navigating Demographics, AI & the Changing American Dream

This week Graham and Marty sit down with Cole Napper, VP of Research and Innovation at Lightcast and host of the Directionally Correct Podcast, to dive into groundbreaking research on workforce risk. Cole draws on his extensive people analytics experience—from multinational corporations to startups—to shed light on Lightcast’s Workforce Risk Report and its roots in earlier studies like Demographic Drought and Rising Storm.

Topics include:

• Workforce Demographics & Skills Gap: How retiring baby boomers, a shrinking Gen Z, and declining college enrollment are fueling a critical skills mismatch that could leave 85 million jobs unfilled.

• Impact of AI & Technological Change: Why AI is more about augmenting roles than replacing them, and the urgent need for upskilling and reskilling.

• Industry Examples & Organizational Response: Comparing companies like Walmart and Amazon to illustrate how different business models can face vastly different workforce risks—and why proactive talent investments matter.

• Reframing the American Dream: Rethinking the four-year degree as the sole path to success, and exploring how trades and skills-based hiring offer a more sustainable future.

Cole Napper, VP Research & Innovation, Lightcast

https://www.linkedin.com/in/colenapper/

Lightcast Risk Outlook