Digital Skills and Job Training: Community-driven initiatives are leading the way in preparing Americans for today’s jobs

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The American job market, by a lot of measures, seems very healthy. The unemployment rate is low and, though labor-force participation has been at historically-low levels, recent employment numbers indicate that more people are coming back to the job market. But there are some Americans who have not benefitted from the improving job picture. Even among those with jobs, wage growth – especially for those whose pay is middle-income or less – has been weak, while upper-income workers have fared better. There are, however, well-paying job opportunities for those on the lower end of the socio-economic spectrum for so-called middle-skill jobs. These are jobs that generally do not require a college degree and pay a living wage. Roughly half of all job openings in the United States fall into the middle-skill category and most (82%) of them require digital skills – and wages are better as a result. Unfortunately, many people who fit the middle-skill demographic also exhibit low levels of “digital readiness” – which means they have deficiencies in digital skills and lower home-broadband adoption rates. A logical solution to the mismatch in skills and job openings is better job training. There is good news and bad news on this front.

[John B. Horrigan is Senior Fellow at the Technology Policy Institute]


Digital Skills and Job Training: Community-driven initiatives are leading the way in preparing Americans for today’s jobs