The Billion Dollar Challenge Latest 4-2-2021.pptx

The Technami is Coming!
Will Memphis surf it, or be crushed?
©2021 Kevin J Mireles
Kevin J. Mireles

The Technami is Coming!
Will Memphis surf it, or be crushed?

A massive Technami is coming

You may not be able to see it, but it’s coming!

1900
almost all
horses
As surely as cars replaced horses, the Technami is coming

1913
all cars
As surely as cars replaced horses, the Technami is coming

It’s being driven by the 4th Industrial Revolution

The Technami will change almost everything

Instead of driving cars, we’ll be driven by them

We’re entering an era where humans & machines are granted
new super powers, as science fiction becomes reality
Intelligence Sight Strength

As employees leverage AR & VR to blend the physical &
digital as well as augment their intelligence in real time
Car Repair = Human
Intelligence + dumb
tools

And gain new strength thanks to bionics

With global visibility and the ability to predict the future

While machines can now see and think for themselves!

And move with autonomy on the ground

In the fields

Or in the air

In the process, making every company a tech company
“This is the end of ‘tech companies’. The era of “tech
companies” is over; there are only ‘companies’, steeped
in technology, that will survive.”
- The End of Tech Companies by Rob Thomas

Resulting in a
Technami of
automation
McKinsey Supply Chain 4.0
Innovation Survey

Automating previously manual processes like
packing and boxing items
Reducing labor costs
by as much as 80%

Wiping out low & mid-skill repetitive work
50% of transportation &
warehouse jobs in jeopardy
of being automated over
next 15 years

But at the same time automation will bring new jobs!
Reduce current workforce due to technological
integration or automation
Expand current workforce due to technological
integration or automation

The Technami
will create more
jobs of all types
and skill levels

Especially involving computers and analytics, presenting
huge opportunities !

Presenting both peril & promise for Memphis
“Compared to other cities, Memphis may have the most to win or lose
by advances in automation.”
“Memphis is one of the largest distribution centers in the world,
employing over 60,000 (more than 40,000 of which are African
American) people in distribution, warehouse, freight and other jobs
that are vital to providing employment, and a tax base for the city and
Shelby County.”
Daphene R. McFerren, JD and Elena Delavega, PhD1 Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change -
THE ROBOTS ARE READY! ARE WE? AUTOMATION, RACE, AND THE WORKFORCE

Unless we take action, inability to fill higher-skill, higher-paying jobs,
along with disappearance of low-skill work, will be disaster for Memphis
Unfilled jobs = lost income,
taxes & business growth
Lost jobs = Financial ruin for
many, lost taxes & lost business

So what will it take to surf the Technami?

First, we need to decide that being one of America’s
poorest cities is not acceptable!

Take action now to meet the demand for tech talent tomorrow
The Billion Dollar Workforce
Challenge

Create easy paths to careers & prosperity, not low-wage
jobs and poverty
?
Careers & Prosperity
Low-Wage Jobs & Poverty

Understand that while college is great, it’s a costly high-risk
gamble for many

Embrace that high-tech & high pay ≠ high education,
instead it’s about the right education & opportunities
After only six months of intensive training as a programmer, you can make nearly $60K
with full benefits vs. working in a warehouse for $20K and no benefits

Tech jobs, especially programming, feature high-starting salaries
that grow and grow instead of starting low and staying low

And those salaries continue growing

Ray Green, from warehouse worker to web developer
“A little over a year ago, I was a 19-
year-old cashier with no job prospects
or sense of direction. Now I’m a
software developer, doing something
I love and making over four times
what I was earning working in a
warehouse.” Ray Green, CodeCrew
Code School Grad

Danny Thompson, from frying chicken to flying high as tech
leader, helping others transition from poverty to prosperity

Just adding another 10,000 Ray & Danny’s will drive an additional
billion dollars in incremental income & economic activity!
$-
$200,000,000
$400,000,000
$600,000,000
$800,000,000
$1,000,000,000
$1,200,000,000
- 1 2 3 4 5 6
Billion Dollar Challenge Year
Cumulative Annual Income & Economic Impact by Year
300 900
2100
4500
9300
Cumulative # of
Tech Workers

Representing over $20 billion in incremental lifetime income
vs. working in warehouses
Overall Lifetime Income Differential

But are there jobs? Absolutely!

K-12 Employment
Post-secondary
Businesses struggle
to find people they
need, & people
struggle to find
prosperity they
deserve
Creating 10,000 new Danny’s & Ray’s will require a
community-wide effort to fix our leaking tech-talent pipeline
• Not enough quality technology-education options in K-12
• Technology myths dissuade people from tech
• Analytics & computing skills viewed as “special” not core competencies
• Colleges weed instead of seed
• Employers won’t hire people with non-traditional educations/backgrounds
• Not enough affordable & easily-accessible classes for adults
• No community-wide integrated tech education/economic development
strategy

The good news is we already have many different organizations
working to tackle these challenges from many different angles.

While the Upskill 901 initiative driven by the Chamber works to bring the
many different organizations together to work toward common goals
Upskill 901
K-12 Schools
Local Firms
Non-profits
Faith-Based
Orgs
Govmts
Colleges

The first step to fixing the leaky pipeline is education, and
multiple organizations are stepping forward
K-12 Employment
Post-secondary
And many more

The Mid-South Advanced Automation and Robotics Center at the
UofM is a great example of the community’s growing collaboration

Despite improvements in education, we still have a huge
hole in the employment portion of the pipeline
K-12 Employment
Post-secondary
Employers scream that they
need IT staff, especially
programmers, but then won’t
consistently hire students
coming out of vo-tech
programs ©2021 Kevin J Mireles

The problem is training does not equal employment
Employers
&
Employment
Individuals
& Education
Providers

PATH is working to bridge the gap by working with training
providers and employers to bridge the gap
Employers
&
Employment
Individuals &
Education
Providers

Success is a social affair
& organizations like Code
Connector provide
diverse, collaborative
learning communities

Despite the progress, we are starting so far behind, we need
to run twice as fast just to catch up

And COVID-19 is accelerating the Technami, so it will come
harder and faster than initially projected

And right now we’re not prepared for it

Ultimately, success will require the development of a new community
strategy and even greater collaboration and investment
After
• Technomic leader with an
inclusive tech, education,
innovation and
collaboration strategy that
drives billions in new
economic activity
Today
• Technomic laggard with no
umbrella organization nor
overall tech, education,
innovation and
collaboration strategy
despite demand &
opportunity
Even greater
collaboration
& investment
K-12
Schools Pupils &
Parents
Career
changer
s
Tech
Pros
Local
Firms
Tech
Firms
Tech
non-
profits
Other
non-
profits
User
Groups
Govmts
Colleges

Education
&
Employment
It needs to drive community-wide collaboration and policies in order to
make the progress required
Shared Services & Infrastructure
One-Stop Shop for Research, Fundraising, Personnel, Marketing, etc.
Advocacy
Measurement
&
Continuous
Improvement
Collaboration
Technomic
Development
Results
Leader in Inclusive Tech, Lifelong
Learning & Automation Adoption

So what can you do to help Memphis surf the Technami?
1. Get involved!
— The Chamber’s Upskill 901 is a great starting point
— Contact showel@Memphischamber.com
2. Contact your elected officials and make sure that we are investing in education
& creating a future-focused education/economic development strategy
3. Donate your money and time to existing organizations like Tech 901, Code Crew,
Black Girls Code and others
4. Progeny Place as part of its PATH program is specifically looking for companies to
— Become a mentor
— Sponsor an apprentice
— Start their own apprenticeship program

The Billion Dollar Challenge Latest 4-2-2021.pptx

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