For Gen Z, the job market is full of mixed signals. One moment, they’re hearing entry-level jobs are a dying breed. The next, CEOs are complaining about a talent shortage. But according to JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, the path to job security isn’t a mystery—it just requires studying the right things.
That’s because there are some areas where businesses are short on skills and desperately need young people to plug that gap, Dimon revealed at Business Roundtable’s CEO Workforce Forum last week.
Businesses have a need for experts in areas like cyber, coding, and programming along with financial and project management, the 69-year-old billionaire said.
“We are short on labor,” he agreed, but, he added: “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.”
Studying those subjects could give the next generation of workers an edge, amid companies like Amazon admitting they will soon cut their corporate ranks thanks to AI and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei warning that the technology could wipe out half of all entry-level, white collar jobs
But Dimon said that many schools are falling short in providing this specialized training to become the next generation of coders or program managers.
It’s why he has previously stressed that schools should be measured on whether their pupils actually land work after leaving.
“If you look at kids they gotta be educated to get jobs,” Dimon told Indianapolis-based WISH-TV last year. “Too much focus in education has been on graduating college… It should be on jobs. I think the schools should be measured on, did the kids get out and get a good job?”
Fortune reached out to Dimon for comment.
Fixing the skills gap starts in the classroom
It may come as a surprise that Dimon is still bullish on the need for students to learn how to code. After all, ChatGPT and other generative AI technologies have made it easier than ever to build a website or develop new software with just “vibes.”
However, Dimon is not alone in his belief that having foundational tech knowledge is still a lucrative career path. In fact, over 250 chief executives—the likes of Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, Airbnb’s Brian Chesky, and Salesforce’s Marc Benioff—came together early this year to sign a letter demanding all students have access to computer science and AI education.
“A basic foundation in computer science and AI is crucial for helping every student thrive in a technology-driven world. Without it, they risk falling behind,” wrote the letter sent to lawmakers.
The push came on the heels of research from the University of Maryland that found that high school students who take a computer science class will have 8% greater earnings on average by the time they’ve secured their first job.
Gen Z can get ahead with more than just hard skills
Gen Z hasn’t always entered the workforce on the best of terms—with some new-to-the-workforce struggling with professionalism, organization, and communication.
It perhaps explains why Dimon has emphasized that new hires need more than just technical expertise in finance or coding if they want to land a job in today’s market (and keep it).
In fact, when hiring at his $750 billion-plus firm, Dimon insists that a college major doesn’t matter as much as a job candidate’s character.
“It almost doesn’t matter to tell you the truth because you’re looking for smart, ethical, decent people,” Dimon told the Wall Street Journal.
