21. Meeting the Upskilling Challenge: Training in the Time of COVID-19
- Author:
- Committee for Economic Development of the Conference Board
- Publication Date:
- 07-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Conference Board
- Abstract:
- COVID-19 has left tens of millions of Americans out of work or uncertain about the future of their current jobs, and thousands of firms urgently reassessing their own viability and path forward. Much remains unknown about the economy that will follow COVID-19. But clearly the pandemic’s whirlwind destruction has, first and foremost, hurt less-educated workers the most, with most of the job losses occurring in manual services, and has accelerated the innovative use of technology in the workplace. These two trends threaten to deepen inequality and add to the urgency of the upskilling and training challenge. Even before the pandemic led to the highest national unemployment rate since the Great Depression, American businesses and workers were anxious about how emerging technologies could potentially change which skills are in demand, and challenge workers to navigate careers requiring continual learning and adaptation.1 Both public policy and private sector leaders must prioritize support for building a US workforce with the necessary skills to outmaneuver this disruption. During pandemic-induced mass unemployment, the first task of policy is to restore as many Americans as possible to gainful employment as soon as the public health emergency allows. But after what is clearly the US’ second sizable economic downturn in barely a decade, workers cannot afford a slow recovery or one that leaves them just as vulnerable as they were before COVID-19 to technological innovation and job displacement. With innovative programs, this current crisis that has idled so many workers can be turned into an opportunity to meet this training and upskilling challenge.
- Topic:
- Employment, Economy, Training, COVID-19, Workforce, and Skills
- Political Geography:
- North America and United States of America