It's time to reskill workforce
Beyond the initial shock of mass unemployment, a growing hunger crisis, and widespread disruption of our routines, COVID-19 has begun to transform the business and employment landscape at a deeper level. It essentially hit the fast-forward button on preexisting trends toward automation, robotization, and artificial intelligence (AI) as companies race to replace now-risky human contact with digital capabilities and services which endanger jobs in warehousing, manufacturing, and retail.
Other large-employment industries like travel and tourism that could absorb these losses will likely struggle to survive for years to come. Our recovery hinges on getting tens of millions of unemployed workers reskilled and back into jobs - and educating our children to be future-ready.
We learned from the last crisis that education is key to a robust economic recovery. Following the 2008 recession, 11.5 million of the 11.6 million jobs created went to people with at least some college education, and 73 percent to those with a bachelor's degree or higher. While college graduates made employment gains by 2018, many workers without a college degree were left behind, with an employment rate 2 percent lower than 2007 levels.
Those trends will only be intensified by the nature of our current crisis. Education in specific, growing technology fields like data science, AI, digital marketing, and information security can help individuals and communities pave a recovery. It's also crucial to America's continued competitiveness as a technology leader. While we're known as a hub of tech innovation, the U.S. does not rank in the top ten of business, data, or technology skills - and our technology skills are not equitably and widely distributed among our population.
Emphasizing technology education is time-tested. Every G-20 country has some version of a STEM strategy, aimed at increasing the number of high-skilled graduates from higher-education institutions in these fields.
Previously, the Obama administration announced a range of programs aimed at boosting computer science education in schools,
Our recovery hinges on getting tens of millions of unemployed workers reskilled and back into jobs - and educating
our children to be futureready. We learned from the last crisis that education is key to a
robust economic recovery. increasing the number of teachers, and broadening participation in the field from women and minorities. In 2019, President Trump signed into law the Building Blocks of STEM Act, to introduce more children, especially girls, to science.
These initiatives are especially important now. However, we must also urgently prioritize targeted, deeper education in certain types of technologies and skills, like AI and its applications, machine learning, information security, data science, and tech and data literacy. We imagine that this work might happen within three foundational pillars:
Expand data science and technology literacy programs: Historically, early in its development, data science programs were considered niche offerings, appealing to a small number of technology and math enthusiasts. Today, the field's breadth means it is now accessible, relevant, and exciting to a much wider range of students and broader set of vocations. Data science and data analysis are sought after skills across industries, and across sectors.
Attracting more women and underrepresented minorities into these programs should be a top priority given the wealth of opportunities available to graduates and the dangerous effects a lack of diversity has on algorithm design and technology development.
Flexible, focused skill-specific programs: We must rapidly expand technology skill development beyond traditional K-12 and university degree settings and tap the under-leveraged opportunity of strengthening community, technical, and vocational colleges' offerings.
Many highly relevant and valuable technology skills can be developed with two years of focused education, including basic coding, data analysis, cloud management and information security. Community college leaders around the country are increasingly collaborating to build and scale these programs and resources. Education outside of traditional learning institutions also has untapped potential, but it is often ignored under existing policies.