Workforce
‘AI is more than just ChatGPT’: Preparing students to use AI responsibly in the workforce
A new program at Rhode Island College teaches students the art of teaching machines.
Want to see skills-first hiring in action? Look to the states
COMMENTARY | Some states are leading the way.
No, America’s battery plant boom isn’t going bust – construction is on track for the biggest factories, with over 23,000 jobs planned
The future of these job-generating gigafactories, many of them in Republican states, could be at risk if the next president tries to wipe out the programs that made them possible.
Striking Boeing workers put spotlight on pensions
Growing pressure to bring back pensions isn’t isolated to the private sector. Amid inflation and a tight labor market, state and local governments have felt it too.
How Nebraska's new tech chief is moving the state out of the era of mainframes and landlines
Nebraska’s technology infrastructure is outdated and its data is largely neglected. Matthew McCarville, the state’s new CIO, has big plans to change that, and it starts with the state’s employees.
State legislators question effectiveness of federal student loans and policies
A bipartisan task force said spending more on loans for higher education doesn’t help much with affordability. The task force called on the feds to rethink how they work with states.
What other states can learn from Indiana’s investment in quantum technology
COMMENTARY | The emerging technology holds the promise of transforming public services at the state and local levels. Indiana’s collaborative model is a blueprint for states seeking to cash in on quantum.
Going into 2025, cities plan for leaner budgets
A survey of city finance officials found that at least half are wary of the coming year and are forecasting more conservative revenue estimates.
Biden administration forgives $4.5B in student debt for public service workers
The president said that more than 1 million public servants to date have had their federal student debt canceled.
Preschools teach ‘hardly any math,’ even as students struggle in later grades
Math advocates say more early math, taught through play or games, can help students later.
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This state is shrinking the public-private pay gap for state workers
Nationally, public employees earn nearly 15% less than their private sector peers—including benefits.
Amid tight budgets and talent gaps, the job of state technology chief just keeps expanding
Many state chief information security officers say they don’t have a reliable budget, staff or expertise to adequately protect against cyberattacks, according to a new survey.
Governors' salaries are absurd—but not for the reason you think
COMMENTARY | Objecting to pay raises for governors and mayors is an empty gesture.
Congress averts a shutdown, setting up a lame duck fight in December
A stopgap funding bill is heading to Biden's desk as Congress staves off a pre-election shutdown.
Want your community to be climate resilient? Put someone in charge.
COMMENTARY | As billions of federal climate dollars flood state and local coffers, governments need people in place who have the authority to coordinate, fund and carry out a plan to build resilience.
Bipartisan deal looks to punt shutdown threat into December
States and cities don't need to fear federal worker furloughs in the near future.
These counties are recruiting teenagers to shore up a corrections guard shortage
Two counties in Texas house training programs in local high schools as officials pitch corrections jobs as gateways to criminal justice careers.
AI fatigue
COMMENTARY | It's true, workers are already experiencing AI burnout. Here's how leaders can recognize and manage it.
An experiment to help newly arrived migrants and asylum-seekers find work isn’t cheap—but doing nothing might cost more
COMMENTARY | A Denver pilot program aims to increase the odds that migrants will secure employment as soon as they’re allowed to work.
Two years later, money from the CHIPS Act is moving
Now that more than half of the almost $53 billion federal investment has been spoken for, the real work has begun as state and local governments look to cash in. Here’s what experts say officials need to do.
