Latest news with #Kimbrough
Techday NZ
27-06-2025
- Business
- Techday NZ
Post-pandemic hiring finds footing as AI transforms tasks, not jobs
The global labour market is emerging from several years of upheaval, but economists at LinkedIn and OpenAI say a new force—generative AI—is beginning to reshape the nature of work in ways that are uneven across sectors. Speaking at the OpenAI Forum, Dr Karin Kimbrough, Chief Economist at LinkedIn, said, "Right now, I would say the labour market's actually reflecting a lot of macro cyclical effects," rather than widespread AI-driven displacement. She noted the hiring boom of 2021-2022 has since cooled, with companies largely holding onto talent and new hiring remaining cautious. "The labour market's looking for normalcy," Kimbrough said. "There's more competition than there was before, but not so much that people can't find a job." However, this overall stabilisation masks significant disparities. "If you are in what is considered like the knowledge worker space, it might be a lot more competitive for you right now to find the role that you want," she explained. By contrast, "The world is your oyster if you work in [retail, healthcare, or construction] industries." Kimbrough attributes these trends to structural factors and post-pandemic realignments, not solely to AI. "We are seeing just a huge demand and increase in roles \[in healthcare]. So we're seeing the number of roles open up—it's not just that people are looking for a role and are able to find one." While job loss due to AI remains a common fear, Kimbrough emphasised that, at this stage, "It's not elimination so much that we're seeing. It's more just people are adjusting, desperately trying to upskill so they can stay relevant." What is being displaced, she explained, are specific tasks within roles. "It's how they're spending their time in that role that is changing." Ronnie Chatterji, Chief Economist at OpenAI, agreed, saying that workers are "rotating from certain tasks to other tasks" rather than seeing their roles eliminated entirely. LinkedIn's data supports this, with increased emphasis on "AI literacy" - the ability to use AI tools effectively. "One of the fastest growing in-demand skills on the platform by employers is conflict resolution," Kimbrough added. "They're rising in tandem with the demand for AI literacy." Surprisingly, it's workers in more disrupted sectors - such as communications and marketing - who are most aggressively updating their profiles to signal AI capabilities. "They need to signal it because the last thing they want to do is be fighting over a job either because an AI could already do half of it or because someone else can do the other half... with AI." For early-career professionals, the post-pandemic hiring slowdown has been particularly acute. "It's been materially harder for new grads in the last year or so to find a role," Kimbrough said. "Employers are looking at their talent roles being full. Again, no one has quit." However, historical data offers some reassurance. "What we found... was that people catch up," she said. "In the first couple of years of their career, maybe they don't progress as fast, but eventually they catch up." She advised graduates to focus on agility, a willingness to learn, and human skills like communication and collaboration. "Even more important [than AI literacy] is communication skills, collaboration skills... leadership." Kimbrough also spoke about international labour markets, pointing to India as particularly dynamic: "A very young, well-educated, and very dynamic, large domestic economy." Yet she highlighted the challenge of making AI tools locally relevant, citing "accessibility of the digital divide and the relevance" as critical barriers to adoption. Adoption also varies widely by sector. Education, for example, lags significantly behind industries like finance or healthcare in hiring AI-literate talent. "Even so, we see them growing at really rapid rates. Is itIt's just not at the same rate." Kimbrough revealed a shift in hiring strategies, noting that employers have reduced backfilling of vacated roles. Instead, they are prioritising new roles, particularly those related to AI. "If you are working in the AI space... you are just in a position of choice," she said, listing roles such as AI engineer, consultant, and researcher as the fastest-growing on LinkedIn. However, she noted that such an opportunity is not uniform: "If you are in other roles... it's been a little bit more challenging." The evolving job landscape also means career paths are becoming less linear. "It's far more organic, it is far more skills-based," Kimbrough said. "AI is so powerful, it's going to allow you to pivot into many more options for roles." Even at the executive level, LinkedIn data shows leaders now emerge from more diverse backgrounds. "So it's okay to have a broader base," she said. "If the thing you have your heart set on isn't working, go do something else and just get started." The discussion painted a nuanced picture: a stabilising labour market shaped more by macroeconomic tides than AI disruption, at least for now. But as AI adoption deepens, agility, skills signalling, and adaptability may well define success across all sectors.
Washington Post
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
How HBCUs fight for survival in Trump's America
At the start of the year, historically Black colleges and universities seemed to be in troubled waters. Donald Trump's inauguration was quickly followed by anti-DEI executive orders that weakened civil rights protections, shuttered federal offices meant to bolster minority-owned businesses and banned books on racial equality from university libraries. The White House directed the dismantling of the Education Department, which administers $120 billion in financial aid for 10 million students annually. And Trump targeted universities such as Harvard and Columbia for political reasons, freezing or canceling nearly $3 billion in federal contracts. But rather than the intersection of these policies placing HBCUs squarely in the administration's crosshairs, they have enjoyed safe harbor. Sen. Katie Boyd Britt (R-Alabama.) offered the latest evidence, opening her remarks at an Appropriations subcommittee hearing this month with praise: 'Alabama has more HBCUs than any other state in the nation. We are proud of the work that is done on those campuses.' Education Secretary Linda McMahon assured her that academic and budgetary support for the schools would continue — 'it's one of the promises that the president made.' Walter Kimbrough, who is concluding his interim presidency at Talladega College in Alabama, told me recently, 'Republicans and Democrats might not agree on a whole lot of things, but historically they have agreed on HBCUs.' Kimbrough has successfully led three such institutions over the last two decades and embodies the pragmatism that necessarily typifies most contemporary HBCU presidents. They are charged with providing a quality education despite facing funding disparities, aging infrastructure and a student body in which upward of 70 percent are eligible for Pell Grants, nearly twice the national average. Kimbrough articulated how they lack the endowments and facilities of flagship universities, making their schools far more vulnerable should the federal government direct its ire at them. 'Let the Ivy League have this fight for now,' he said, adding, 'We need to survive.' These conditions put HBCUs in the odd position of having solid and long-standing bipartisan support that still results in being under-resourced and vulnerable. Today's excessively partisan politics around race and higher education further complicate matters since the same Trump administration that has reneged on promises to Black America is vital to keeping these institutions open, funded and operational. This state of play sometimes leaves them in compromising positions, whether with Republicans or Democrats. In 2011, the Obama administration changed credit requirements for the government's parent PLUS loans, leading to $150 million in lost revenue to HBCUs and denied loans for 28,000 of their students. Kimbrough was leading Dillard University at the time, an HBCU in New Orleans of just over 1,000 students. 'This is one that for me is complicated,' he said. 'I mean, at Dillard, we lost 150 students.' But he also noted that, 'A good body of research says parent PLUS loans really do harm families, particularly Black families.' It forced these presidents to choose their institutions and students over immediate Black economic well-being — and call out the first Black president in the process. In 2017, HBCU presidents came to D.C. to meet with then-Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. 'The goal was for her to hear from HBCU presidents — what are the key issues,' he explained, but the conversation was cut short, and the group was ushered into the Oval Office for a chuckling gaggle with a smiling Trump. 'We got hoodwinked on that one,' Kimbrough told me, still a little sore about the photo op. 'Look, I wasn't there for that. I needed to talk about Pell Grants with the secretary.' Today, MAGA politics is upsetting Florida A&M University, the state's largest HBCU, where Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed an unqualified loyalist to lead the institution over more experienced and vested candidates. Because of these kinds of politics, HBCUs have always had to think more strategically and pick their spots, especially with a figure as polarizing and unpopular among Black Americans as Trump remains. And yet, amid his executive orders targeting diversity and 'wokeness' was one re-establishing the White House Initiative on HBCUs and encouraging increased private sector support. I asked Kimbrough why he thought Trump had taken this tack. 'In his first term, he had four talking points to say, 'I'm not a racist,'' he said, listing them out, ''I did criminal justice reform. I got the lowest Black unemployment. I did the opportunity zones. And I funded HBCUs.'' But on the substance, Kimbrough said Congress was far better to HBCUs than the White House: 'I think Trump has taken a lot of credit for things that he didn't actually do,' he said, noting the roles that Sens. Tim Scott (R-South Carolina) and Kamala Harris (D-California) played during his first administration in securing bipartisan buy-in and funding increases. Even a nonchalant White House, however, still creates tenuous conditions for the nearly 100 remaining HBCUs, even if they've stayed out of Trump's sights. More than one-third of them are in exurban areas and have a median enrollment of less than 2,000 students. While overall HBCU enrollment has increased in recent years, that growth is contained to larger, well-known schools — such as Howard, Hampton, North Carolina A&T, Morgan State, for example — while smaller and rural institutions are seeing decreases. Without more support from federal and state governments, Kimbrough warned, 'I don't know how many of those schools survive in the next 20 years.' If given an audience with Congress or the Trump administration, he would cite three things HBCUs need to do to remain safe and in good-standing nationally: a tripling of the maximum Pell Grant award; transitioning the HBCU Capital Financing program, which lends funds for infrastructure projects on campus, from a loan to a grant; and a doubling of enrollment such that 20 percent of Black undergraduates attend HBCUs instead of the current 10 percent. In the meanwhile, HBCUs understand acutely the importance of staying away from political controversy and maintaining bipartisan support to keep their doors open and their students preparing for success. As Kimbrough put it, pragmatically, 'We don't need to mess that up.'
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Yahoo
Forsyth County Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough calls for more funding for deputies
FORSYTH COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — Forsyth County Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough is not backing down from a big request. He said he needs more deputies to get the job done. He asked the Forsyth County commissioners for $800,000 to beef up staffing. It's budget season, and the decisions made will impact the county's future. 'I'm asking for the safety of the community,' Kimbrough said. Kimbrough asked the board of commissioners to bring their office an additional $800,000 to add two more analysts for the Real-Time Crime Center, and the point he hit the hardest is bringing more deputies to the street. 'Since 2018, we have increased by over 20,000 more residents in this county. What that means is more calls … Just for the month of March, we had 235 triple zeros,' Kimbrough said. Kimbrough explained that triple zeros are calls that come in, and there's no one to respond. In April, there were still over 200 triple zeros. 'We have to meet the demands … Every year have been asking for additional patrols,' Kimbrough said. Kimbrough told the board of commissioners that the sheriff's office has filled all their vacant positions. Several commissioners raised the question: Can the school resource officers from the school system fill in that void? 'That doesn't equate to the 10 months where I don't have manpower. You're talking about two months out of the year … where they have to do training,' Kimbrough said. Kimbrough was met with more pushback. 'When comparing to the request for EMS for 16 full-time advanced EMTs, they're all going to be answering medical emergencies,' County Commissioner Dan Besse said. 'I don't know if you know this, but many calls that EMS go on, they stage,' Kimbrough said. Kimbrough explained that means EMS waits for a deputy to arrive on the scene before they can help the patient. 'So if they call and say, 'We need a deputy,' and I say, 'I don't have anyone to send,' they're staging until I get there,' Kimbrough said. The discussion ended with County Commissioner Don Martin recommending that the sheriff look at his budget to find a way to fit some of those costs. Kimbrough said he is going to pull more data for the commissioners regarding those triple-zero responses from the sheriff's office. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Yahoo
‘100 Days of Summer Heat' campaign aims to reduce fatalities on Tennessee highways
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — The Tennessee Highway Safety Office and Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) are cracking down on dangerous driving in Northeast Tennessee as the summer arrives. The THP and highway safety office gathered for a press conference in Johnson City on Tuesday to announce the start of the '100 Days of Summer Heat Campaign.' Nolichucky raft guides likely to lose 2025 season in Gorge THP Fall Branch District Captain Kevin Kimbrough told News Channel 11 that the initiative will target dangerous driving to reduce the number of fatal crashes in the region. 'Focus on hazardous moving, distracted driving, impaired drivers, restraint use and hazardous moving and speeding, and so, so on and so forth,' Kimbrough said. Authorities conducted the same operation in Hamblen County and saw a drop in fatal crashes, with nine fewer when compared to the same time the year before. Law enforcement agencies that participate in '100 Days of Summer Heat' will increase their enforcement on drunk and distracted driving through the use of sobriety checkpoints and other methods. 'You're going to see an increased presence from THP on the interstate systems and state routes,' Kimbrough said. 'You're going to see, first and foremost, the coveted THP motor unit, the Falcons. You're going to see your motorcycle units in every county in all 14 counties in East Tennessee, and [they] are going to be working on problem areas that have the highest number of crashes related to distracted driving, motor vehicle fatalities, impaired drivers, you name it.' Kimbrough advised anyone hoping to be safer on roadways this summer to start their days earlier to avoid heavy traffic, avoid driving distractions and obey speed limits. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Local girl chooses to sell ice cream over a conventional birthday party
WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream, except for one Wichita Falls girl who wanted to give away ice cream for her 5th birthday. Emery Rangel has always been a go-getter. For the second year in a row, she decided to have an ice cream truck come by for her birthday, but instead of eating it with everybody else, she wanted to give the ice cream away. Whether it was friends, family, or neighbors showing up at the ice cream truck, she greeted them with a smile and the ice cream of their choice. When her birthday was coming around this year, her mom, Ashley Kimbrough, said there was no doubt from Emery about what she wanted to do. 'I'm like, what do you want to do? She's like, Ice Cream truck! I'm like, why don't you want a birthday party? And she says, because it's boring. All we do is play,' Kimbrough said. 'Yeah, so she'd rather give presents, give gifts to other people.' Emery's enterprising spirit extends to her extracurriculars, too. She's involved in cheerleading, dance, and Zavala. Both Kimbrough and Emery's father, Jonathan Rangel, are sure she'll want to give away ice cream for her sixth birthday too. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
