GenAI Employer Interview Guide

Many professional, continuing, and online (PCO) education leaders are frustrated by conversations with employers about generative AI (GenAI). Despite an interest in GenAI, employers are often unable to be specific about the skills they need or even how they’ll use GenAI in their workplaces. This lack of specificity makes it difficult for PCO leaders to plan relevant curricula. This tool will help you push past this impasse by asking better questions of your employer partners.

Understanding employer needs for GenAI skills presents a significant opportunity for PCO units. As more companies integrate GenAI into their workstreams, they’ll need workers who understand the strengths and limitations of GenAI, know how to use GenAI in an ethical manner, and possess “human skills” that will become more important as GenAI automates routine work.

This tool provides questions your team can ask employers to help you determine:

1. Does this employer need workers with GenAI skills?
2. What kind of training would best meet this employer’s needs?
3. Which types of staff at this company need generative AI training, and which GenAI skills do they need to learn?

Along with the questions to ask, we also provide examples of what to listen for in employers’ responses. For each typical response, we make recommendations for the kind of GenAI training that will be most appropriate for that type of employer.