OpenAI has announced it is to develop and launch a new AI-focused job search platform, alongside a range of AI certifications via its online learning platform, OpenAI Academy.

The OpenAI Jobs Platform will connect employers with AI-qualified and skilled workers, signaling further disruption to experience- and role-based hiring.

“The OpenAI Jobs Platform will have knowledgeable, experienced candidates at every level, and opportunities for anyone looking to put their skills to use. And we’ll use AI to help find the perfect matches between what companies need and what workers can offer,” wrote Fidji Simo, CEO of applications at OpenAI, in a blog post announcing the platform.

“Importantly, the jobs platform won’t just be a way for big companies to attract more talent. It will have a track dedicated to helping local businesses compete, and local governments find the AI talent they need to better serve their constituents.”

Major organizations and consulting firms, such as Walmart, John Deere, Accenture and Boston Consulting Group were confirmed to be in collaboration with OpenAI and are likely to be among first adopters.

Simo added that the Jobs Platform won’t be targeted solely for large enterprises to attract talent.

“It will have a track dedicated to helping local businesses compete, and local governments find the AI talent they need to better serve their constituents,” she said.

“Most businesses, including small businesses, think AI is the key to their future. And most of the companies we talk to want to make sure their employees know how to use our tools.”

Training the new generation of AI skills and talent

At the same time, OpenAI also confirmed it will offer certifications for varying levels of AI fluency.

OpenAI Certifications will be available through its learning platform, launched earlier this year, ranging from basic AI at work applications to AI-custom jobs and prompt engineering.

In the blog post, Simo highlighted that upskilling and reskilling programs have a “mixed record”, and that OpenAI has studied “what has and hasn’t worked” and has designed its programs to “better serve the needs of both workers and companies.”

“We’ll obviously use AI to teach AI: anyone will be able to prepare for the certification in ChatGPT’s Study mode and become certified without leaving the app. And companies will be able to make it part of their own learning and development programs,” Simo explained.

“OpenAI is committing to certifying 10 million Americans by 2030. And we’ll be doing it with our launch partners, including the biggest private employer in the world: Walmart.”

Walmart CPO, Donna Morris, announced the retail giant’s involvement in a LinkedIn post, stating that the employer of more than 2 million workers will offer a “new, no-cost OpenAI certification to our U.S. associates” as of next year.

“This program is part of our continued focus on upskilling and is designed to equip our associates with essential AI skills, supporting their growth and success as technology becomes an even greater part of our daily work,” Morris said.

This effort is part of a broader OpenAI initiative and builds on our $1 billion commitment to training and development through 2026.”

A new model of hiring or another example of application tourism?

OpenAI’s announcement comes at a time where job markets are being rapidly disrupted through an increasing desire for AI-based productivity, diminishing volumes of entry level roles and ongoing skill gaps.

In a blog post, HR industry analyst and founder of The Josh Bersin Company, Josh Bersin, highlighted that while the announcement heralds plenty of excitement, OpenAI have also taken on a significant undertaking.

“First, OpenAI has to amass a huge amount of job candidate data (that’s every working-age person in the world). That alone is a massive effort…and then they have to infer skills, experience, potential, and much more,” Bersin detailed.

“Second, OpenAI has to build an “applicant tracking system” (ATS) that helps employers find candidates. Gig work platforms like Upwork, Toptal, Fiverr, and many others have been doing this for years, and the business model is weak (who pays for what?), so they tend to become work-management tools. I’m not sure if this is what OpenAI wants to do.”

Bersin added that the employee development side of OpenAI’s announcement, via Certifications, is a part of an wider trend to use agentic AI as a means of professional development.

“OpenAI clearly wants to go in this direction, so let’s hope they help us all revolutionize corporate L&D,” he said.

Meanwhile, Thomas Otter, HR tech guru and Acadian Ventures general partner, said in a LinkedIn post that he is “rather skeptical” of OpenAI’s changes for success, because of “the Slack Fallacy and what I’ve labelled ‘application tourism’.

“Application Tourism: This is when a horizontal vendor builds (or announces it plans to build) an application in a space it previously has shown no interest in. After realizing it is harder than they thought, they pack up and head on to the next destination, or just go home.

For many years Google was the cruise ship of application tourism. HR tech is a very popular application tourism destination. HR tech seems easy at first.”