Amanda Bergson-Shilcock
A Holistic Vision for Digital Skills in the Heart of the Midwest: How Illinois is Investing its Digital Equity and Broadband Funds
The federal Digital Equity Act and the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program will collectively send more than $1 billion to Illinois, and state officials have been working for more than a year to lay out their roadmap for implementation. The State Digital Equity Plan describes how Illinois officials envision supporting broadband adoption, digital devices, and digital skills, while the BEAD
What State Leaders Need to Know about Measuring Digital Skills: Options and Opportunities
As implementation of the $2.75 billion federal Digital Equity Act gets underway, state broadband officials and other policymakers are hurrying to put plans in place to measure the impact of these new investments. A key area of focus is digital skills—how to measure the baseline of residents’ current skills, what data digital skills program providers will need to collect and report on, how to set targets for improvement, and more. The field has not yet coalesced around a single list of digital skills that all individuals should possess.
Closing the Digital Skills Divide: The Payoff for Workers, Business, and the Economy
Even before the coronavirus pandemic began, policymakers, businesses, and workforce advocates were already recognizing that workers were not being replaced by robots, but rather, being called upon to work hand-in-glove with rapidly evolving technology. Now — as leaders design labor market policies to drive a thriving and inclusive economy — it is imperative to understand this digital transformation. The analysis finds the following:
Four Ways to Promote Digital Inclusion for California's Workers
To support workers and industries now and in a Future of Work transformed by technological changes, policymakers should invest in digital skill building for quality jobs, as well as access to broadband and digital devices. Recommendations for promoting digital inclusion for California's workers:
Federal government allows use of TANF, SNAP E&T, WIOA funds to support digital inclusion
New guidance from the federal government can help skills advocates to improve digital access and equity for adult learners and workers. In particular, several federal agencies have clarified how existing policies can be used to remedy technology gaps faced by many US jobseekers and workers. What federal policies can support greater digital inclusion?