Digital US Launches With a Roadmap to Achieve Digital Resilience for American Workers

Digital US, a national coalition focused on equipping all U.S. workers with essential digital skills by 2030, today released a report “Building a Digitally Resilient Workforce: Creating On-Ramps to Opportunity” that addresses the country’s digital literacy fault lines likely to worsen as a result of COVID-19. The report lays out a strategic approach to enable the digital fluency of individuals and companies by the end of the decade, which may prove to be a lynchpin in reskilling and economic recovery efforts following the fallout of the novel coronavirus.

“Today, nearly every aspect of labor market participation is digital – from how we upskill and reskill and find and apply for employment, to how we accomplish daily workplace tasks; so it’s vital that we collaborate in new ways to ensure that all Americans have the ability to navigate in a digital environment and thrive in our modern economy,” said Priyanka Sharma with Digital US and coalition partner World Education.

Andy Trainor, Vice President of Walmart U.S. Learning, agreed. “Digital skills are becoming table stakes in today’s economy, which is why we are committed to making digital skills training accessible to both our associates and customers from the communities we serve. Together, we can make digital readiness and resilience a reality for all Americans.”

An estimated 32 million Americans struggle to use a computer and half of Americans say they are not confident using technology to learn. For these individuals, the shift to an online-only education or a fully online job market threatens to exacerbate the digital gap that already exists. Companies like Wiley, a global leader in research and education and Digital US coalition partner, believe there is an inextricable link between the two, and, as such, Wiley is connecting educators and employers to develop content and courseware needed to build a digitally savvy workforce at scale.

“Digital US shares our urgent commitment to accelerate the development of digital skills in the workforce so we can rapidly rebuild, recover, and collectively thrive in the post-pandemic world,” said Brian Napack, President and CEO, Wiley. “We need an ecosystem-wide approach to close critical skill gaps, especially the massive one between supply and demand for technology talent, so we build real on-ramps to opportunity for all Americans.”