Reimagining Skills Development for an AI-Transformed Workplace
The Research Project
The Readiness Gap is Dr. Mikah Sellers’ and Dr. Nigel Paine’s current research project and forthcoming book, investigating the growing disconnect between what students learn in higher education and what they need to thrive in today’s rapidly evolving, AI-driven workplace.
Graduates are entering the workforce without the power skills, adaptive mindsets, and experiential learning opportunities that modern organizations demand. At the same time, employers across sectors are struggling to find early-career talent ready to contribute, collaborate, and lead in environments defined by disruption and constant change.
Through interviews and surveys with global executives, government and NGO leaders, educators, and recent graduates—as well as two decades of experience at the intersection of leadership, learning, and technology—Dr. Sellers is uncovering why this gap persists and how we can close it.
The Readiness Gap aims to offer a bold new framework for preparing students to be truly future-ready: immersive, experiential “leadership labs” that cultivate human-centered capabilities alongside technical fluency, ensuring graduates leave campus not just employable—but equipped to lead.
We are inviting corporate executives, government and NGO leaders, educators, current students, and recent graduates to share their perspectives and help shape the future of education and work.
Dr. Mikah Sellers is the author of Forging Emotionally Intelligent Leaders in the Age of AI, a workforce futurist, and an enterprise transformation leader with over 20 years of experience at the intersection of leadership, learning, and innovation. His work explores how emotionally intelligent leadership—and the systems that support it—can unlock human potential in an era shaped by artificial intelligence and automation.
He earned his doctorate in Organizational Leadership and Learning from the University of Pennsylvania, with research focused on immersive, experiential executive education and emotional intelligence. A former Chief Innovation Officer and Chief Digital Officer, Mikah has led global teams and advised Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and high-growth startups through digital and cultural transformation.
For over a decade, he taught at Georgetown University's School of Continuing Studies, where he was recognized as an award-winning faculty member for his impact on adult learners and leadership education.
About Dr. Mikah Sellers
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