Human-Centered Workforce Development in an Age of Advanced Technology
A Q&A with Marc Booker
Ever since computer and communications technologies became common in the workplace, educators have explored the best uses of those technologies — not just to boost speed and efficiency, but to leverage the latest technologies with human-centered skills that truly empower students as they take their places in the workforce. How can we feature those skills in workforce education programs in our colleges and universities?
Here, Marc Booker, vice provost of strategy at the University of Phoenix examines how to recognize and promote human-centered workforce development in higher education.
Mary Grush: Is it fair to say that in its 50 years, the University of Phoenix has prioritized curricula that support workforce development and student success?
Marc Booker: Mary, I think it’s beyond a fair statement given that our institution was created especially because there weren’t a lot of programs for working adult students to learn to navigate and succeed in the workforce or to change careers. So workforce development is part and parcel of who we are, and it is deeply rooted in our DNA.
Grush: Are we heading into a time when what the workforce really needs is the development of new skill sets that are uniquely human — skills that institutional leaders employ to create effective, human-centered programs even in highly technological environments? Is this a new imperative in response to AI or any other current or emerging technology?
Booker: Actually, workforce development has always been a human-centered endeavor at the University of Phoenix. You see this when you look back — over decades — at what we’ve done to foster the best employees who serve their companies well and ultimately serve society better.
Workforce development has always been a human-centered endeavor at the University of Phoenix.
In workforce development efforts the best place to start is with the person — the human who has the knowledge or teachable skill — because even in the world of evolving and advancing technology, people personalize and add their own creativity and insights to the technical capabilities we already have.
Advanced technology and tools should make us more efficient and allow us to work faster and produce more; there’s no argument with any of that. But the human-centered nature of drawing connections and making those connections personal, relevant, and accessible to other individuals always delivers more. It’s here where you find the magic of any technology — when it operates through a human lens. And human-centered workforce development is how you offer the skills that impact and represent not only the product and the practice, but also the person.
The human-centered nature of drawing connections and making those connections personal, relevant, and accessible to other individuals always delivers more. It’s here where you find the magic of any technology.
