Macmillan Learning Brings 100+ Education and Industry Leaders Together to Examine Student Skills, AI and Workforce Readiness

Paul Krugman, Carl Zimmer and leaders from the Apprenticeships for America, the National Association of Colleges and Employers, and Emerson Collective are among the featured participants in four working gatherings across three cities

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Macmillan Learning, a privately held, family-owned digital learning company, today announced four summits bringing together more than 100 educators, economists, scientists, and workforce leaders. Together, they will examine how AI and other shifts are reshaping the skills learners need and how they demonstrate them.

The series includes the Workforce Skills Summit, STEMEd, CompEd, and EconEd. The four programs will take place across three cities from October 20 through November 14. The 2026 gatherings build on more than a decade of educator-led programming, including 10 years of the WPA Workshop and EconEd events dating back to 2013. They were built this year around a working-session format and belief that the people closest to the work should help shape what comes next.

Neil Allison, independent advisor and former Head of Education, Skills and Learning at the World Economic Forum, said, “We've been talking and meeting about workforce readiness for decades. This convening has particular urgency today, however, because we face a new challenge: AI is reshaping entry-level work. It seems to be eroding the first rung of the ladder into work for students, and with it the talent pipeline for employers. As technology absorbs more routine tasks across jobs, not just entry-level ones, demand is growing for core human skills like collaboration, judgement and critical thinking. That raises questions none of us can answer alone.”

The questions include: How do we make sure AI builds these skills rather than offloading the hard work of learning? And how do we scale up, and reinvent, the experiences that build these skills, like apprenticeships and internships, so learners are prepared for the work ahead?

Rethinking How We Recognize Workforce Readiness

Workforce Skills Summit | October 20–22 | Phoenix, Arizona

The Workforce Skills Summit will bring invited leaders from education, hiring, workforce development, corporate learning and the broader education-to-employment ecosystem into one working council. Through roundtables, facilitated discussions and collaborative problem-solving, participants will explore questions facing educators and employers:

• Where do education and industry use the same language but mean different things by “skills”?
• What evidence can demonstrate capability beyond degrees, badges and course completion?
• How can learning experiences help students build and show what they can do?
• How can institutions provide meaningful practice when access to work-based learning is limited?
• What reveals human judgment, creativity, communication and adaptability when polished output alone tells us less?

“The people helping students prepare for work and those hiring and developing talent often see the same challenges from different angles, but they rarely get enough time to work through them together,” said Greg David, Macmillan Learning Chief Customer Officer. “These gatherings create that space. Participants can compare what they are seeing, question assumptions and leave with ideas they can put to work.”

Participants include Neil Allison, recently of the World Economic Forum; Veronica Aguilar of Teach For America; Lisa Blue of Eastern Kentucky University; Zach Boren of Apprenticeships for America; Jameeka Green Aaron of the Emerson Collective; Joshua Kahn of the National Association of Colleges and Employers; Leslie Kennedy of the California State University Office of the Chancellor; Elizabeth Kerr of the University of Cincinnati; Ronald Marlow of Action for Boston Community Development; Torian Richardson of DBR77; Michelle Sims of YUPRO; and Mae Tobin-Hochstadt of Year Up United, among others.

Three Disciplines, Three Timely Educator-Led Conversations

Each summit approaches workforce readiness through a different lens. STEMEd focuses on scientific reasoning and problem-solving. CompEd examines writing, communication and the ability to make thinking visible. EconEd explores data literacy, evidence and real-world decision-making. The Workforce Skills Summit brings education and industry leaders together to consider how those capabilities can be built, demonstrated and recognized across the full learner to work journey.

STEMEd 2026 | October 22–24 | Phoenix, Arizona

Science courses ask students to master challenging content while learning to evaluate evidence, reason through complexity and solve unfamiliar problems. At STEMEd 2026, Biology, Chemistry and Physics instructors will identify the skills they want students to build, then work backward to design the learning experiences, assessments and support that can get them there.

Featured participants include Carl Zimmer, an award-winning science journalist, New York Times columnist and Yale professor; Douglas J. Emlen, a National Academy of Sciences member and evolutionary biologist; Brandeis University biology professor Jim Morris; chemistry educator Kevin Revell; and physicist and educator Roger Freedman.

CompEd 2026 | October 29–30 | Kansas City, Missouri

Marking the 10th anniversary of Macmillan Learning’s WPA Workshop, CompEd 2026 builds on a professional development event that grew into a national community of writing program administrators and leaders.

This year’s program will address the continuing value of human writing, the effects of AI on reading and writing, and practical ways to make student thinking more visible. Participants will explore experiential learning, critical AI literacy, authentic assignment design, Universal Design for Learning, Transparency in Learning and Teaching, and intentional scaffolding.

Featured speakers include Doug Downs of Montana State University, Shevaun Watson of the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and Jennifer Duncan of Georgia State University Perimeter College.

EconEd 2026 | November 13–14 | Chicago, Illinois

At EconEd 2026, economics educators will explore practical ways to help students connect economics to the decisions and debates they encounter outside the classroom. Sessions will focus on data literacy, real-world decision-making, evidence-based discussion, critical thinking in an AI-enabled economy and the development of economic reasoning.

Featured speakers include Nobel laureate and NY Times Columnist Paul Krugman; Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy professors and economists Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers; and Marginal Revolution’s Alex Tabarrok, among others.

Across the four gatherings, participants will compare experiences with their peers and develop ideas they can use in their classrooms, programs and organizations. The conversations are different by design, but each begins with the shared challenge of helping students build and demonstrate the capabilities they will need for the work ahead.

About Macmillan Learning

Macmillan Learning is a privately-held, family-owned digital learning company that inspires what’s possible for every learner. We envision a world in which every learner succeeds. Through our content, tools and services, we aim to make that a reality. To learn more, please visit macmillanlearning.com or our newsroom.