Cognizant leaders delivered the keynote address at the Jobs for the Future (JFF) Horizons 2020 virtual conference earlier this month.  An annual event, the JFF Horizons Conference brings together leaders from the public and private sectors, as well as nonprofit organizations, to discuss education and workforce challenges facing the U.S.

Cognizant’s Ben Pring, Director for the Center for the Future of Work, joined in a panel discussion moderated by Eric Westphal, Senior Director, Global Workforce Strategy and Economic Development at Cognizant, to address how technology is disrupting the future of work and what organizations can do to equip and prepare the future workforce. Other panelists were Dr. Amy Hillman, the Charles J. Robel Dean of the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University (ASU); Brian Kirkland, Chief Technology Officer for Choice Hotels; and Sarah Pinvises, Business Analyst Consultant at Cognizant and a graduate of the Cognizant-ASU program.

The broad-ranging discussion covered topics, including:

• The importance of supporting train-to-hire programs such as the Cognizant-ASU collaboration that supports creating a diverse talent pipeline.
• An understanding that while technology changes will be disruptive and challenging, there are many great opportunities for the modern workforce.
• The idea that pre-employment training programs are an extension of the interview process and allow companies to train and recruit the best talent.
• The ways in which continuous cooperation between public and private organizations can enable employees to adjust and become lifelong learners over the course of their careers.

“I was pleased to be a part of this important conversation,” said Ben Pring. “Cognizant’s Center for the Future of Work has identified the jobs and industries that will be disrupted by new technologies. Engaging with this panel of esteemed experts shed new light on how public-private partnerships can equip the future workforce with the modern, in-demand skills they will need to be successful, and the importance of innovative partnership approaches to delivering programs for workforce readiness.”

Click here to watch the replay.