from the Philadelphia Fed
The changing nature of work necessitates the development of digital skills in the knowledge economy. Within the rapidly expanding health care, tech, manufacturing, and finance industries, middle-skills jobs increasingly require workers to cultivate a robust digital skillset to compete in an economic market marked by technological innovation.
Research from Burning Glass Technologies has shown that nearly 8 out of 10 middle-skills jobs now require a degree of digital proficiency. At the same time, employers report a digital skills gap that hampers economic productivity and growth in their respective sectors. To propel America’s workforce forward, a proactive approach to workforce development must address the changing technological demands of employers within talent pipelines. Furthermore, supplemental training for mid-career professionals is necessary to upskill workers as automation transforms job tasks.
When workers are equipped with digital skills and a proactive workforce development strategy, they are more prepared for digital disruption and career pathways into the middle- and high-skill jobs, fostering economic mobility. Understanding the shifting need for digital skills in the 21st century is vital to regional economic growth and competitive human capital development. This brief will examine perspectives from both roundtable listening sessions held during the summer of 2018 and research in the workforce development field to explore what challenges and innovative strategies have been used to prepare workers with digital skills for 21st-century jobs.
Opportunities for digital skills investments include:
- Apprenticeship and other work/learn/earn programs
- Credentials and skills-based hiring
- Upskilling and reskilling for incumbent workers
- New funding models to pilot and scale programs
- Tech training partnerships
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Source
https://www.investinwork.org/-/media/Files/reports/digital-skills-for-the-21st-century-workforce.pdf
