Building a Digitally Resilient Workforce: Creating On-Ramps to Opportunity

There are 32 million adults in the United States who are locked out of opportunities for economic advancement because they lack basic digital literacy skills. This is a problem that exacerbates existing inequalities.

Creating an ecosystem that supports learners and workers in their efforts to obtain basic digital skills is an important first step to improving the situation. A precursor to more advanced technical expertise, digital literacy is an on-ramp to stable careers that pay good wages.

But treating digital literacy as an endpoint isn’t enough. The job market is evolving, and the technical skills that employers are seeking are continually shifting. That’s why an organization called Digital US is focused on ensuring that all Americans have the personalized supports and opportunities they need to develop “digital resilience.”

A coalition of companies and organizations that includes JFF, EdSurge, NAWB, and World Education, Digital US addresses the need for digital resilience in an inaugural report titled “Building a Digitally Resilient Workforce: Creating On-Ramps to Opportunity.” Highlighting the urgent need to support digital skills development for all Americans, the report argues that designing, building, and scaling the on-ramps and supports that millions of adult learners and workers need is a social impact imperative.