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ERIC Number: ED607390
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Jul
Pages: 20
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-
EISSN: N/A
Digital Skills for an Equitable Recovery: Policy Recommendations to Address the Digital Skill Needs of Workers Most Vulnerable to Displacement
Bashay, Molly
National Skills Coalition
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, it was apparent that American jobs are undergoing massive technological transformation. In-demand careers increasingly require digital literacy skills, and for many industries digital skills are entry-level competencies for new hires and incumbent workers. Since the pandemic, digital demands in the U.S. workplace have only accelerated, with workers from frontline jobs to white-collar roles being asked to quickly adapt to new tools and technologies. To succeed in this rapidly changing environment, workers need broad-based digital problem-solving skills that equip them to learn a wide variety of today's technologies and navigate continued changes in the future. But at least 48 million U.S. workers lack these foundational digital skills, and even more lack access to the high-quality training. Despite the wave of new public attention to digital issues spurred by the COVID pandemic, policy changes have not yet caught up. Our country's adult education and workforce systems are underfunded--and too often not adequately aligned--making it impossible for these systems to fully address the current challenge. Businesses attempt to fill the gap, but no single company can do it alone. To meet the needs of today's and tomorrow's workers and businesses, policymakers must invest in the opportunities and supports workers need to upskill and effectively work with new technologies. Ensuring that the U.S. can provide digital literacy and problem-solving skills to all workers will necessitate policy solutions with the following components: (1) Make a federal commitment to occupational digital literacy and create a new national grant program, or Digital Literacy Upskilling Grants, to expand access to high quality digital skills instruction that meets industry and worker needs; (2) Develop a measurable national standard for industry-specific digital upskilling efforts; (3) Create a network of "21st Century Industry Partnerships" between businesses, education providers, the public workforce system and community organizations; and (4) Incentivize private investment in digital skills training, instruction, and upskilling opportunities for incumbent workers by expanding the scope of existing tax policies. [For the companion report, "The New Landscape of Digital Literacy: How Workers' Uneven Digital Skills Affect Economic Mobility and Business Competitiveness, and What Policymakers Can Do about It," see ED607391.]
National Skills Coalition. 1250 Connecticut Avenue NW Suite 200, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 202-223-8991; e-mail: info@nationalskillscoalition.org; Web site: https://www.nationalskillscoalition.org/
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Adult Education
Audience: Policymakers
Language: English
Sponsor: Lumina Foundation; Walmart
Authoring Institution: National Skills Coalition
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A