The Need for Digital Skills Has Never Been Greater

Sieberg: The future of work in the United States and globally will require most workers to have some level of digital skills. But there's an existing mismatch between today's workers and digital skills needed for in demand careers. Hello, I'm Daniel Sieberg and this is "Getting Connected," powered by Comcast Newsmakers. We're on location at the 2024 Skills Summit in Washington D.C. And joining me now is Robert Espinoza. He's the CEO of the National Skills Coalition. And, Robert, thank you so much for being here.

Espinoza: Thank you for having me.

Sieberg: So, you know, we talked about this mismatch and the skills that workers need. What are you seeing in terms of what is required for today's in demand jobs?

Espinoza: So, most in demand jobs require a significant amount of skill from construction workers to homecare workers to janitorial workers. In fact, it's hard to imagine any job that doesn't require a certain skill. Right? But, certainly, some of the sectors that are most critical to our economy require significant skill and significant digital skill. So, take, for example, a homecare worker. A homecare worker is supporting an older person or a person with a disability in their homes. To become that homecare worker, they typically have to undergo anywhere from four to six weeks of training to acquire those skills. In a digital world, they often have to take training that helps them move their software and their devices, report from a client's home all the way back home, right? And they need to understand the ways in which digital technology keeps changing on them. So, it is very much a skilled world that requires workers.

Sieberg: Now, tell me about the National Skills Coalition if you will and what you're doing to address this gap.

Espinoza: Yeah. National Skills Coalition, we're a national policy-based organization. We're based in D.C., but we work at the federal level and in 20 states to advance policies that support skills, training, career paths and credentials for American workers. And we work across party lines, we work in different sectors. But we're motivated by the reality that when workers have skills training, they are able to access a better life and local businesses are able to hire skilled workers.

Sieberg: Now, for more than two decades, your organization has been committed to providing high-quality training for businesses to thrive, but also, of course, the workers as well. What have you seen over the last 20 years and what are you looking ahead to in the next 20 years?

Espinoza: What we've seen is that the workforce and industries at large have changed dramatically. So, for example, the need for digital skills has never been greater. So, if you were to look, for example, several years ago at job openings for many jobs across industries, you wouldn't have seen as many digital skill requirements, maybe not even any, right? And what we're seeing now is that more than 90% of job openings require at least one digital skill. And, yet, if you take a step back and you imagine who are the workers that are applying for these jobs, we need to think about the different types of workers. So, take, for example, one of the largest segments of this workforce, which are older people. Older people might have worked one or two careers. They might be entering their 50s or their 60s and they might realize that they don't have the digital skills that these jobs are requiring. And, so, how do we reskill or how do we upskill workers to make sure that they can apply for these jobs, maybe apply for them over their phone or maybe just understand the technicalities of that work? And how do we keep training them because technology is ever changing? And, so, if our world changes and our training changes, then so should our policies.

Sieberg: And what about an industry sector like healthcare where there's clearly a need for digital skills in ways that 20 years ago people couldn't even have imagined?

Espinoza: When you think, for example, about the issue of homecare or long-term care more broadly, several years ago, I became aware of a nursing home in Minnesota, in rural Minnesota, and they were looking for more workers. There was a workforce shortage and they were struggling to recruit them. And, so, they worked to develop a social media campaign. And they realized that as part of the recruitment process that most workers wanted to apply on their phones because it streamlined the process and made it easier. And, so, they did that and they succeeded. However, once those workers started the job, there were a whole range of other digital skills that those homecare workers needed and they didn't necessarily have it. Right? And, so, training makes sure that at whatever point in employment you are that you have the skills to be able to do the job and to really contribute to your career.

Sieberg: And those technologies and digital skills are always evolving. We're here at the 2024 Skills Summit. What would you say is going on around us and what does success look like for you on the other side of this event?

Espinoza: Yeah. It's a really remarkable summit. We have skills advocates from about 41 states plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. We have people coming to learn about the wide range of skills training policies and the kind of challenges that I just described. And to meet each other, what is the skills advocate in Illinois doing with the skills advocate in New Mexico and where can you exchange ideas. And then the idea is to take all that learning and to go to the Hill, to meet with their federal leaders and talk about everything that they need in their community so that workers have the skills they need to thrive and local businesses have what it takes to succeed.

Sieberg: Well, continued success to you. Robert Espinoza, the CEO of the National Skills Coalition, thank you so much for joining us.

Espinoza: Thank you.

Sieberg: And thanks to you as well for watching. For more conversations about digital equity and broadband expansion, visit gettingconnected.com. I'm Daniel Sieberg.