Speaking at the Business Roundtable’s CEO Workforce Forum, Dimon highlighted the disconnect between education and employment, stating, “There are some areas where businesses are short on skills and desperately need young people to plug that gap.”
He added, “We are short on labour. We all have needs for cyber, we all have needs for coding, we all have needs for programming, we have needs for financial management and program management, things like that.”
Even as automation reshapes industries—Amazon has announced plans to cut corporate staff due to AI, and tech leaders warn that up to half of all entry-level white-collar jobs are vulnerable—young workers trained in these high-demand fields may still build stable careers.
Dimon has long expressed concern that many academic institutions are not preparing students with job-ready skills. “Too much focus in education has been on graduating college… It should be on jobs,” he said. “I think the schools should be measured on whether the kids get out and get a good job?”
His view reflects a growing consensus among business leaders. More than 250 CEOs—including Satya Nadella, Brian Chesky, and Marc Benioff—have signed an open letter urging lawmakers to expand access to computer science and AI education in schools.
Supporting this call is a University of Maryland study showing that students who take a high school computer science class earn, on average, 8% more in their first job.
Dimon also issued a warning to fellow CEOs: don’t wait for the government to close the skills gap—take initiative. “What you’re really short of is the skills you need,” he said, urging companies to build direct partnerships with schools and rethink the connection between education and workforce development.
He believes the talent gap threatens growth across sectors—from advanced manufacturing and healthcare to technology and finance—and estimates that 10 million jobs could go unfilled globally by 2030.
“We need to break down the barriers between education and employment,” he said. “It’s time to build a system that helps people learn, adapt, and thrive throughout their careers—not just at the start.”
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