How AI is Changing the Workforce and the Role of Pathways
AI isn’t just the next wave of technology, it is rewriting the rules of work in real time. For Colorado Succeeds, that means one thing: our pathways must keep pace or risk leaving a generation of learners behind.
At a recent board meeting, we invited executives from three of our member companies—Ibotta, Janus Henderson, and Slalom—to share how AI is reshaping their businesses, what skills the future workforce will need, and where Colorado Succeeds can help build pathways that prepare learners for this new reality.
The message was clear: AI is changing everything, and education can’t afford to lag. The trends they surfaced have urgent implications for education and training. Pathways that connect learners to careers must be more agile, transparent, and responsive than ever before.
AI is Rewriting Every Job
“We are really looking at every position we have and asking which parts of this work can we do with AI, so that we may not need to rehire this role the same way we have in the past.”
– Colorado Succeeds Member
The debate about whether AI will replace jobs misses the point. It’s not the number of jobs at stake; it is how the work itself gets done.
Companies are already auditing roles, automating tasks, and restructuring jobs from the ground up. When positions are vacated, they are not necessarily being replaced. Entry-level roles, the on-ramps young people rely on, are contracting. Employees are expected to produce more by using AI tools to 10x their performance and output compared to the pre-AI era. This means fluency in AI tools have become table stakes—as foundational as computer literacy was a generation ago.
That shift creates new fault lines: digital natives who can use AI instinctively, seasoned experts whose judgement gives them an edge, and a squeezed middle layer of managers whose role rely heavily on coordination.
The implications for learners are clear: students must learn to work with AI, not avoid it. Banning AI in schools is as shortsighted as banning calculators in math class. Instead, students must have the opportunity to engage with the very tools and technology reshaping our economy.
Skills that Matter in an AI-Driven Economy
“We need people who know when the AI is hallucinating and how to probe further. Discernment is the skill that matters most.”
– Colorado Succeeds Member
When AI boosts productivity, the differentiator isn’t output; it is judgment. Trust, creativity, and critical thinking rise in value precisely because AI can’t replicate them. It is crucial to prepare people to work alongside AI, not in competition with it.
Executives identified several essential skills for the AI era:
- Discernment: the ability to assess AI outputs for accuracy and value
- Curation: refining and applying AI-generated ideas
- Analytical literacy: using simulations and data wisely
- Critical thinking: ability to connect technology to business value
Foundational knowledge and technical skills still matter. But the real premium will be on what’s uniquely human: the ability to question, test, and lead. Competitiveness in the AI economy won’t be measured by how much you can produce, but by how well you can work alongside the technology.
This makes learner pathways the critical mechanism for long-term success.
Pathways Must Catch Up—Fast
“There’s going to be this gap of not only managing people, but also managing AI. That’s a whole new leadership skill set we haven’t prepared for yet.”
– Colorado Succeeds Board Member
For nearly two decades, Colorado Succeeds has worked to expand pathways that connect students to opportunity. In the age of AI, when it’s complicated to predict what jobs will exist in ten months, let alone ten years, permeable pathways are more important than ever. Students need to see how education connects to careers and develop skills that will serve them across multiple jobs and industries. These skill shifts have implications for how we build pathways.
Sector impacts will vary. AI may ease shortages in some fields, but critical gaps will persist in construction, healthcare, and manufacturing—jobs where human presence is non-negotiable. These fields urgently need more talent, yet today’s pathways and credentialing systems are not filling the pipelines fast enough.
At the same time, entry-level jobs are evolving, requiring specialized skills earlier than ever. Students need opportunities to stack credentials, build technical foundations, and practice human skills like adaptability, judgement, and creativity, so they can move between industries and invent their own futures. Hands-on learning and work-based learning experiences remain vital to connect students with experienced professionals and environments where they can develop the exact kind of judgment and context AI can’t teach.
Bottom line: if work is evolving this quickly, education and training systems must evolve just as fast. Responsiveness is no longer optional. Building agile systems is nonnegotiable.
Closing Thoughts
Colorado Succeeds’ role isn’t to predict which jobs AI will eliminate or create. Our job is to listen to employers, translate those signals, and make sure education leaders have the tools to adapt.
The insights from our members leave no doubt: the future of work is arriving fast, and learners can’t wait for pathways to catch up.
The conversation doesn’t end here. We will continue bringing together business leaders, educators, and policymakers to ensure Colorado remains competitive in the age of AI. If these themes resonate with your experience, we want your perspective—because the only way forward is together.
Reach out to us.
Header Photo by Allison Shelley/Complete College Photo Library
