New Partnership to Address Digital Literacy and Job Skills Gap
FCC Chairman Genachowski and Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis visited an employment center in Arlington, VA, for an announcement related to digital literacy and job training.
Washington, D.C. – On Monday, July 16, 2012, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski joined Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, representatives from Connect2Compete, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services to announce an effort on digital literacy and job training as part of a national initiative to close the broadband adoption gap.
Connect2Compete is a national non-profit coalition to help narrow the digital divide by making high-speed Internet access, computers, educational and jobs content, and digital literacy training more accessible for millions of Americans without home connectivity. The program recently announced the first-ever, multi-media, multilingual, nationwide ad campaign on digital literacy with the Ad Council, which will launch in early 2013.
According to studies, one-third of all Americans — 100 million people – have not adopted broadband high-speed Internet at home and 66 million Americans lack digital literacy skills. Through Connect2Compete, the public-private partnership seeks to overcome the top obstacles to broadband adoption, including digital literacy, relevance, and cost. Yet, more than 80% of Fortune 500 companies require online job applications. Through Connect2Compete, the public-private partnership seeks to overcome the top obstacles to broadband adoption, including digital literacy, relevance, and cost, enabling all Americans to compete successfully in the job market.
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Participants
- Julius Genachowski, Chairman, Federal Communications Commission
- Hilda Solis, Secretary, U.S. Department of Labor
- Howard Feldstein, Director, Arlington Employment Center
- Susan Hildreth, Director, Institute of Museum and Library Services
- Connect2Compete representative
- American Job Center job seeker