Is Every Job a Tech Job? Building Tech Staff From Within
by Cherie Lemer | at Minnebar 16 | 1:55 – 2:40 in Proverb-Edison | View Schedule
The pandemic required many parts of the in-person world to move online. That transition increased the demand for workers with tech skills, with many companies struggling to find enough staff to fill open roles. Most efforts have focused on how to recruit new staff or quickly get new recruits into tech bootcamps to meet demand. But what if we included existing staff who don’t currently work in tech in the strategic planning for digital transformation? Can more jobs become tech jobs? Can those roles be filled by upskilling existing staff? What organizational changes are needed to support this evolution?
This talk will offer strategies for building your tech workforce from existing staff while developing the vision for digital transformation. We will discuss the resources needed to upskills staff, methods to inspire employee engagement, and the potential benefits and risks for the organization.
Cherie Lemer
As a technology leader supporting health and safety initiatives, Cherie builds technology solutions that reduce the risk of injury and death for colleagues and the surrounding community every day. Yet, the minute she enters the classroom to teach my job readiness bootcamp, she is reminded that the work she does during the day is changing the nature of work for her students. Many technology executives will tell you that someone will have to do something to help people adapt to a world in which careers are constantly impacted by AI and automation. Cherie wants to be that someone.
In addition to an understanding of how technology is impacting careers of both today and tomorrow, Cherie has more than 20 years of experience in teaching, training, and communications focusing on social impact and behavior change. In this work, she has mentored people through their career transitions and built educational programs to enhance the competitiveness of people entering new career fields. She is proud to have been the co-conspirator for many who have gotten into graduate school, received promotions, negotiated higher salaries, and landed jobs they thought were out of their reach.