Poster #51 - Forging Multi-Stakeholder Collaborations to Bridge the Skills Gap in a Rapidly Evolving Digital Economy

• In Event: Friday Poster Reception

Abstract

In an era defined by continuous technological change and digital acceleration, global economies are facing a profound transformation in skill demands. As new domains emerge, the pace at which skills become obsolete has accelerated, placing unprecedented pressure on educational systems and professional development infrastructures. Students preparing for employment, and workers striving to stay relevant, must constantly adapt to shifting requirements. However, there remains a persistent gap between what is taught across educational institutions and what is truly demanded in the labor market.
This growing misalignment disproportionately affects historically marginalized groups, including first-generation college students, individuals from low-income backgrounds, and persons with disabilities—groups often underrepresented in upskilling opportunities or policy discussions. The challenge of keeping curriculam aligned with emerging workforce needs cannot be solved in silos. It demands transformative and resilient policy solutions grounded in collaborative, inclusive efforts.
This poster introduces LAiSER (Leveraging AI for Skills Extraction and Research), an AI-powered, open-source tool designed to bridge this divide. LAiSER uses advanced natural language processing (NLP) models trained on hundreds of millions of real-world examples to analyze diverse human-readable documents—such as syllabi, textbooks, resumes, job advertisements, blogs, and articles—and uncover hidden patterns in skill language. By extracting, standardizing, and contextualizing skills data, LAiSER builds a common framework that supports interoperability across education, industry, and policy sectors.
The LAiSER initiative illustrates how AI can support data-driven collaboration that advances both educational innovation and social equity. It enables institutions to future-proof their curriculam, helps job seekers navigate complex skill landscapes, and allows policymakers to proactively shape resilient systems.
In alignment with the 2025 APPAM theme, this work demonstrates that forging collaborations is not just beneficial—but essential—to creating policies that are inclusive, adaptive, and built to last.

Author

• Shabnam Rafat Ummey Sawda, George Washington University
  Presenting Author