Ex-Meta exec launches nonprofit to help Gen Z navigate worst entry-level job market in decades

Ex-Meta, Salesforce exec aims to help Gen Z find jobs

Why it matters: College students and younger workers are increasingly stressed that AI is eroding entry-level jobs. Driving the news: The New Work Foundation is debuting with three tools: * JobClaw maps one's strengths and interests to a role in which they are well suited. It's starting out as an open-source prototype on GitHub, with plans for a consumer release. * dear [CC] is designed as a modern twist on Dear Abby, aiming to offer much-needed career advice, detailing how AI is affecting each profession. * Field Report is designed to help recent college graduates identify the best jobs for their major. Andrew Yang, whose 2020 presidential campaign focused on job risks from automation, is joining the nonprofit as a founding adviser. What they're saying: Shih told Axios the job market is a bit of a "Tale of Two Cities" with those who are deep users of AI having their choice of jobs and those who lack such skills facing the toughest job market in years. * Shih also had a message for those eschewing AI for moral reasons. * "While I admire their principle, I don't think they're doing themselves or society any favors," she said. "They're the exact young people that I want being part of building these AI solutions." Between the lines: Shih said she decided to launch the effort after being peppered with questions from younger relatives and friends worried about how to find a career.

At TIME100 Summit, Executives Confront AI's Threat to Entry-Level Jobs

Clara Shih, senior advisor and founder of Business AI at Meta, agreed, emphasizing the rate at which AI models are improving. "We are living through the biggest reorganization of human labor ever," she said. "It's faster than the Industrial Revolution. It's faster than the internet. And there's no equivalent to the G.I. Bill or the union yet defined." Shih is particularly concerned about Gen Z, noting they are entering the worst entry-level job market in 37 years, and that the generation's experience was bifurcating, as those with AI skills find it easy to find work, while those without them are "in a much tougher spot." Shih announced that she was launching a new nonprofit, the New Work Foundation, which develops free AI tools to help young American workers participate in the changing economy.