Digital Skills for an Equitable Recovery: Policy Recommendations to Address the Digital Skill Needs of Workers Most Vulnerable to Displacement

Autor/in	Bashay, Molly
Institution	National Skills Coalition
Titel	Digital Skills for an Equitable Recovery: Policy Recommendations to Address the Digital Skill Needs of Workers Most Vulnerable to Displacement
Quelle	(2020), (20 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Monographie
Schlagwörter	Technological Literacy; Job Skills; Problem Solving; Skill Development; Adult Education; Educational Finance; Federal Aid; Grants; Partnerships in Education; School Business Relationship; Private Financial Support; Job Training + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Technisches Wissen; Produktive Fertigkeit; Problemlösen; Kompetenzentwicklung; Qualifikationsentwicklung; Adult; Adults; Education; Adult basic education; Adult training; Erwachsenenbildung; Bildungsfonds; Grant; Finanzielle Beihilfe; Hochschulpartnerschaft; Private Investition; Berufsqualifizierender Bildungsgang
Abstract	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.] (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	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/
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2022/1/01