At the same time, conversations about automation and workforce disruption are no longer theoretical. They are already influencing hiring decisions, career paths and expectations — and students are feeling that pressure as they attempt to prepare for roles that are still taking shape.

Traditional hiring models no longer enough

Recent research by Gallup and the Lumina Foundation underscores the impact, finding that nearly half of college students have reconsidered their major due to concerns about AI’s influence on the job market. For employers, this is a clear signal that traditional hiring models are no longer enough.

ADT has developed a mission centred on empowering people to help connect and protect, and through this model the company plans to support people through this period of change. As technology reshapes how work gets done, ADT is adjusting how it hires and develops talent to focus less on fixed credentials and more on capabilities that help employees adapt, grow and build confidence as roles continue to evolve.

Cross-functional collaboration

According to Dave Scott, ADT Executive Vice President, Chief People & Administration Officer, "What's key to success now is cross-functional collaboration, customer-centric problem solving, and the ability to learn and progress as technology evolves. These skills are harder to demonstrate solely through credentials and are better shown through real-world experience. These qualities tend to reveal themselves through internships, project-based work and involvement beyond the classroom, where individuals navigate ambiguity, respond to feedback and collaborate toward shared outcomes."

He says that this shift has also changed how companies engage with higher education. "Recruiting graduates at the finish line is no longer enough. Employers need earlier and deeper engagement with colleges and universities that track student development over time. At ADT, that commitment has included hiring 104 interns over the past three years, with roughly half transitioning into full‑time roles."

Talent pipelines cannot be built in isolation, and long-term partnerships between educators and employers have become essential to preparing students for a workforce that continues to evolve.

Scott continues, "For ADT, these shifts are not abstract. We are building teams around technologies that did not exist just a few years ago. ADT’s recent acquisition of Origin AI, which will soon allow us to use Wifi sensing coupled with artificial intelligence in our home safety products, reflects how emerging innovations are changing both what companies build and who they need to create and maintain it."

Cross-discipline skills

That work requires people who can operate across disciplines, adapt as use cases evolve and apply judgement in areas where trust, safety and privacy matter. As the nature of work changes, so must the signals employers rely on to identify talent.

For students, the question is no longer simply how to prepare for a first job, but how to build a career in an evolving environment. And Scott believes that for employers, the responsibility is just as clear. "Creating opportunity in a time of rapid change requires hiring and development models that recognise potential, not just credentials. The companies that get this right will not only find the talent they need; they will positively help shape a workforce that is more resilient, more confident and better prepared for what comes next," he concludes.