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  • July 2019
  • Teaching Note
  • HBS Case Collection

AT&T, Retraining, and the Workforce of Tomorrow

By: William R. Kerr and Carl Kreitzberg
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:9
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Abstract

A Teaching Note for the "AT&T, Retraining, and the Workforce of Tomorrow" case study (HBS#820-017). The case describes how AT&T designed and implemented a program to retrain 100,000 of its workers. The case first reviews the technological forces that compelled AT&T to change its competitive strategy in the late 2010s, which in turn threatened to make its workforce’s skillsets obsolete. The case then performs a deep dive on AT&T’s solution, the “Workforce 2020” retraining program. The case concludes by reviewing the early results and potential societal implications of the workforce model.

Keywords

At&t; Workforce; Training; Future Of Work; Telecommunications; Unions; Technological Change; Layoffs; Moocs; Strategic Planning; Employees; Training; Labor; Learning; Labor Unions; Technology Adoption; Talent And Talent Management; Transformation; Telecommunications Industry; Communications Industry; United States

Citation

Kerr, William R., and Carl Kreitzberg. "AT&T, Retraining, and the Workforce of Tomorrow." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 820-018, July 2019.
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About The Author

William R. Kerr

Entrepreneurial Management
→More Publications

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  • Note on the Future of Work By: William R. Kerr, Joseph B. Fuller, Manjari Raman and Bailey McAfee
  • The New Generation of Retail By: William R. Kerr, Daniel O'Connor and James Palano
  • Unilever's Response to the Future of Work By: William R. Kerr and Bailey McAfee
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