How AI, skills-based hiring, and green jobs are reshaping the workforce

As industries face a growing skills gap, emerging talent and technology are driving a new era of innovation, adaptability, and inclusion for the future of work.

Autodesk Video

March 7, 2025

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not replacing jobs outright but augmenting work and creating new opportunities. Those who learn to leverage AI will have a competitive edge in the job market, making AI literacy a crucial skill for the future.
Skills-based hiring and alternative education pathways are reshaping workforce entry. Many careers no longer require traditional degrees, as rapid upskilling through self-learning and new technologies enables faster job placement.
Sustainability is a major driver of workforce change, with Gen Z leading the charge in seeking careers that make a positive impact. Companies are integrating green technologies into their business strategies, both as a hiring advantage and a response to global challenges.

Humans are at the forefront of a workforce revolution—one that demands adaptability, creativity, and a proactive embrace of technology. The labor market is undergoing a seismic shift, driven by rapid technological advancements, demographic changes, and an urgent demand for new skills. A growing skills gap—particularly in digital and green trades—poses challenges for industries worldwide. As experienced workers retire, businesses are grappling with how to fill critical knowledge gaps. Meanwhile, a surge in sustainability-focused roles and the rise of skills-based hiring are redefining how companies attract and retain talent.

At the center of this transformation is AI—it's becoming an integral tool for businesses looking to innovate, automate, and augment human capabilities. The question isn’t whether AI will shape the future of humans; rather, it’s how humans can use AI tools to shape the future.

Education and training must evolve to keep pace with these changes. From alternative pathways that bypass traditional degrees to hands-on training in sustainable technologies like solar, geothermal, and battery storage, emerging talent is entering the workforce through unconventional routes.

Watch industry experts discuss how businesses and professionals can strategically navigate this transformation to build a future of work that is more inclusive, efficient, and impactful.

View transcript

Kate McElligott Buchanan, Workforce Innovation and Investment Lead, Autodesk: There’s a lot of disruption in the labor market right now. We’re seeing a proliferation of a skills gap, especially in digital trades, from changing demographics to retiring folks with a lot of knowledge. I’m seeing a huge proliferation of growth in green jobs. And lastly, I’m seeing interesting skills-based hiring and the effects that I can have on the workforce.

Robert Okpala, Project Principal, Buro Happold, New York Office: Can AI help with workers shortage? My honest opinion is yes, particularly in more knowledge-based industries.

Natalie Staines, Senior Director, Education Marketing, Autodesk: We see this globally, but AI is top of mind in industry. It’s not just about a mindset. It is understanding how to use AI to your advantage to design and create and innovate.

Paul Jurcys, Co-Founder, Prifina & Senior Lecturer, Vilnius University Law School: Oftentimes people think about AI as a monster that has been released here to destroy us. It’s natural that we are influenced by these historical narratives. However, I think only through learning these new tools, experimenting how to integrate them in our daily lives, we can actually understand the benefits.

McElligott Buchanan: Experts I talk to every day are saying it’s not necessarily that AI is going to take your job, it’s that someone who knows how to use AI is very likely to be hired instead of you.

Staines: More and more classrooms and curriculum have to teach with AI first as a part of new ways of working, not as something that’s going to hinder getting a job. It can really be the tool that helps students get jobs when they learn how to make AI a tool to their advantage.

Jurcys: We’re actually living in this revolution moment. We are witnesses of a revolution that is happening. So I think the question is not whether AI will shape the future of us humans, but how can we humans use AI tools to shape the future we want to live in.

McElligott Buchanan: Most jobs and roles are seeing an augmentation of work, not an outright automation of work. We’ve also seen that over time, technologies like AI or automation end up creating net new jobs.

Okpala: There is a whole range of talent out there who might not want to go to college but could also be involved in knowledge work in an office, as well as field work on-site.

McElligott Buchanan: Through alternative pathways, quicker on ramps to some of these jobs, you don’t have to go to school maybe for two or four years. You can be self-taught. You can use new technologies to learn the latest and greatest, go into a job and start delivering for an employer within months versus years.

Okpala: And the types of skills and jobs that will be available for all within the workforce, whether that’s blue, cold or white collar. And sustainable technologies, is becoming a really interesting area.

Staines: Students are not just smart, but they’re curious and they’re creative and they’re empathetic, and they really do believe that they can design and make a better world for all.

Okpala: There is a real push for those that are coming up into the industry to learn about these technologies: heat pumps and batteries and solar, geothermal. Looking at new technologies such as fuel cells.

Staines: We see in architecture, engineering and construction, that grouping of industries, 72% of them believe that sustainability is part of their retention plan for talent. So it’s not just a business outcome, it’s actually a hiring strategy.

McElligott Buchanan: Gen Z is the most interested in green jobs, and they either want to work in a green job themselves or they want to work for a company that they know is having a real positive impact.

Okpala: Emerging talent. Honestly, they’re going to save us for sure. That’s what keeps me optimistic about the impact of transformation within our industry.

McElligott Buchanan: Workforce innovation is disruptive and it’s sometimes anxiety inducing, but I think young people are really excited to solve these problems that we have.

Staines: For better or worse, we are living in a world that presents us with challenges daily. Some are taking that passion and turning it into solutions.

Okpala: The reason why I still get excited about coming to work and do the things I do, apart from the great clients and the great projects, is that emerging talent and the way that we engage with each other.

McElligott Buchanan: I wake up every day super excited about what the future holds for industries.