Voice of Business Blog

Guest post from Greater Rochester Chamber member Brian Sabedra, Office Managing Partner, PwC Rochester

Rochester business leaders face a critical question: Responding to emerging trends is no longer just an HR issue; it is a business imperative.

Skills are shifting faster than job descriptions. AI is reshaping the labor market. Organizations that pair adoption with job redesign can raise productivity and invest in talent. AI fluency, judgment, and client relationships are becoming more valuable, giving rise to the “AI generalist”: a business leader who can direct and quality-check AI output.

AI-exposed entry-level roles are seven times more likely to demand leadership and strategic thinking once associated with greater experience. Those roles have grown 35% since 2019, while other entry-level postings fell 10%. The entry-level job is being rewritten, not eliminated. Some organizations may become more “diamond” shaped, with fewer junior employees and a strong middle layer overseeing AI agents. But shrinking junior ranks creates a future leadership gap. A stronger model is an “hourglass”: give AI-literate, business-savvy early-career talent meaningful responsibility while preserving the apprenticeship path that develops future leaders. At PwC, that means giving early-career professionals meaningful client responsibility while building the AI, business, and human skills they will need to lead.

Hiring is shifting from degrees to skills. Employers are using skills-based hiring and AI-enabled learning to broaden talent pipelines and match people to changing roles. In a region with Rochester’s concentration of universities, that shift can strengthen work-based learning while helping employers and colleges prepare students for roles that increasingly combine technical fluency with business judgment.

That requires a deliberate learning agenda. PwC’s Learning Collective is built around 30 future-ready skills: 15 AI technical skills and 15 human skills. It develops them together, pairing capabilities such as AI fluency with critical thinking, adaptability, communication, empathy, and judgment. Learning is embedded in client work and real-world problem solving so employees can apply the skills immediately and leaders can build workforce capability at the pace of business change.

Retention is still about trust, and that trust is eroding. PwC’s 2026 Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey found that trust in management fell seven percentage points globally in one year, with fewer than half of workers trusting top management. The divide is structural: 56% of workers sit in the operational “engine room” but are furthest behind on AI skills, and only about two in five report adequate access to learning. Daily AI users report trust in management 15 points higher. Even confident, AI-fluent workers are a flight risk: nearly three in ten may change employers within a year. In a tight labor market, employers cannot redesign work successfully without also addressing that trust and access gap.

The same pattern is emerging across the market. Manufacturers are rethinking how apprenticeships prepare floor supervisors, and healthcare systems are redesigning entry-level clinical support roles around AI-assisted tools. PwC’s survey of more than 300 US executives found that 79% are adopting AI agents and two-thirds report measurable productivity gains, yet fewer than half are fundamentally rethinking their operating model. Executives cite change readiness and workforce engagement, not technology, as the biggest barriers. This is a leadership and operating model decision, not an HR policy update. In our work with clients, PwC is helping leaders redesign workflows and prepare managers to lead the workforce through that change.

Rochester leaders should identify which roles AI is making more valuable, redesign early-career work to build judgment, and equip managers to lead change clearly. Local universities and workforce organizations should be treated as strategic talent partners.

The business case is clear: roughly 20% of companies capture about 74% of the returns on AI. The differentiator is workflow redesign and workforce capability, not simply buying tools. Early-career turnover raises replacement and retraining costs, while managers who cannot explain AI-driven change slow productivity. For Rochester, success will show up in retention, time to productivity, and the ability to compete with larger markets.

At our Rochester office, we recruit year-round and develop people through client-based apprenticeships. We also invest in university and community partnerships that keep talent here. Rochester’s strengths in advanced manufacturing, healthcare, higher education, and photonics give the region a strong foundation. Its next advantage will belong to employers that develop talent as deliberately as they invest in technology.