Digital Skills Working Group
Institute for a Competitive Workforce
U.S. Chamber of Commerce

OBJECTIVE:  To convey the range of digital skill levels required
for today's workforce.

U.S. economic growth and competitiveness depend on the effective application of digital technologies in all sectors of the economy.  Business*, now more than ever, has an urgent need to develop a comprehensive agenda for digital skills development. All workers must be prepared with the necessary skills - particularly digital skills, to compete in the 21st century.

The Digital Skills Working Group at the U.S. Chamber's Institute for a Competitive Workforce will be comprised of a core group of corporations committed to building a broad coalition to support this work.

The Working Group will:

• Develop clear definitions of "digital skills" and the U.S. populations who lack them;
• Create messages and mechanisms for promotion on the urgency of this need; and
• Build an action agenda of recommendations for business, education and training organizations, and government.

A range of digital skill levels is required to develop and apply these technologies throughout the economy (see table of skill levels below).

The Business Case for Heightened Attention to Digital Skills

• A growing proportion of U.S. jobs require at least a basic level of digital literacy, with many of the best jobs demanding increasing levels of digital fluency.
  
  
  • Despite strong evidence of downward trends in the overall skill levels and competitiveness of the U.S. workforce, there is no visible urgency, active debate, analysis of best practices, or integrated policy/legislative proposals to change this situation for the existing workforce.
    
    
  • Other key countries havenational "frameworks" and "roadmaps" for education and training, and strong national policies to support workforce training for the jobs of the future.
    
    
• Improvements in the workforce will only come if we can generate commitment and resources outside of current programs and exploit the opportunities for on-line and distance learning. 
  
  
  • The overseers of training—government, educational institutions, and career and technical schools—may recognize the problems, but are often impeded by concerns about jurisdiction and funding to achieve significant improvements.
    
    
  • Federal and state workforce development programs together represent more than $3 billion annually, yet are often ineffective, inaccessible and designed for an industrial economy, not a knowledge-intensive society. 
    
    
  • In addition to federally-funded workforce training, many state governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and corporations have programs underway to address parts of the challenge, which is why there is a significant opportunity to consolidate experience, skills definitions, certifications, curriculum, and facilities to achieve larger scale and improved performance. 

*See "Digital Prosperity: Understanding the Economic Benefits of the Information Technology Revolution," Report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (March 2007) by Atkinson & McKay. http://www.itif.org