AI is transforming the nature of work — not just on a global scale, but right here in West Michigan. From advanced manufacturing to healthcare, financial services to logistics, artificial intelligence is simultaneously disrupting traditional roles and unlocking new potential across the region.
This session explores AI as both a challenge and a catalyst for workforce transformation. Drawing on national research and local labor market insights, we’ll examine how AI is:
- Creating new job categories, especially in AI-adjacent fields like automation maintenance, logistics tech, and digital customer service.
- Accelerating demand for human-centered skills such as adaptability, empathy, and critical thinking — now increasingly prioritized in regional job postings.
- Reshaping access to jobs and career mobility, with West Michigan seeing rising demand for “skills-first” hiring over traditional degree requirements.
You’ll learn how AI is reshaping West Michigan’s workforce, the need to redesign job descriptions around skills, the impact of AI-powered tools for career navigation, and inclusive, future-ready talent strategies that balance innovation with equity.
Grounded in real-time data and built for action, this session offers clear strategies that employers, educators, and community leaders can implement now to prepare for — and shape — the future of work.
AI won’t replace people — but people who use AI will replace those who don’t. Learn how to be on the right side of that shift.
Who’s It For?
This session is designed for anyone shaping the future of work in West Michigan. Whether you’re an employer navigating rapid talent shifts, an educator preparing learners for AI-driven careers, a workforce leader focused on upskilling and equity, or a tech innovator building tools that connect people to opportunity — this session is for you. Ideal for:
- Employers & HR professionals
- Workforce development & education providers
- Tech and innovation leaders
- Career navigators & community-based organizations
- Policymakers & economic mobility advocates
What to Expect
A data-rich, forward-looking session exploring how AI is transforming jobs, skills, and career pathways in West Michigan — and what we can do about it. Featuring real labor market trends and a panel of local leaders in tech and workforce innovation who are building or deploying AI solutions in the workplace. The agenda includes:
- The Case for AI as a Double-Edged Sword: a data-driven exploration of AI’s dual impacts on the workforce
- Panel Discussion: Building the Future of Work with AI
- Strategic Solutions: practical guidance on aligning workforce strategies with the demands of the AI era