July 3, 2019
According to a study by the Institute for the Future (IFTF), 85% of jobs that will exist in 2030 have not yet been created. This means that the vast majority of high school and college graduates today are being trained for jobs that may no longer exist within a couple of years. We need to future-proof careers for American workers who will enter the workforce in the next decade and longer.
And we see this phenomenon with alarming frequency: automation and technological innovation has reduced the need for human labor in the US. Go into a CVS and you will notice that human registers have mostly been replaced by scanners and self-checkout machines. Enter McDonald’s and order your custom burger and pay through a digital kiosk, then walk up to the counter with your printout to pick up your order.
I grew up in the Midwest and was privileged to have attended great public schools in Michigan through the end of high school, then later left the state to go to college. After that, I worked in New York City, and later around the world, in China, Mongolia, Kenya, Argentina, and many other countries. While I loved my diverse experiences, it also made me reflect upon the brain drain in the Midwest and how I was not alone in seeking career opportunities elsewhere. I witnessed the tremendous economic struggles of our communities in the Midwest due to the financial crisis and wanted to come up with a solution. As I experienced the interconnectedness of the global economy in my own career, I thought deeper about solutions for future-proofing American workers.
The solution does not seem to be government sanctions against foreign companies–most of the jobs lost are not being off-shored; rather, they are being automated. The solution, I realized, might come from a solution that thinks more expansively. I saw a global labor market in which Americans are not simply working for a local manufacturer. With modern tools, they would be able to work remotely for any country in the world. Americans have skills that are highly prized in global economies, including the ability to communicate natively in American English.
We live in an era in which the freedom of movement of ideas is easy, but it still remains difficult to move people and future-proof careers. People are less mobile because of visas and other political barriers, but more importantly, people do not want to move away from their families and communities. And in an ideal world, they should not have to. There should be jobs that are created in all communities, and opportunities for everyone, so long as they are willing to work.
This is why I founded Alariss, which enables foreign enterprises to hire American talent. We want to bring jobs back to the region in a way that is more globally beneficial and efficient. In an age in which outsourcing is often met with outrage, and job loss due to automation is acute, now more than ever, there is a need for better remote work and distribution of wages and labor, and better international relations. My hope is that we can provide a win-win solution so that American workers continue to do things that only they can do, and can be compensated for their labor. We also want to provide a better strategy for global expansion and for businesses to enter new markets.
As we see it, the future of work is global, but all global business is done locally. And it means that Americans can stay where they are and who they are, and find opportunities to contribute economically. Remote, flexible work will bring more opportunities, better economic returns, and impactful jobs to those who are willing to take them.
