BOOSTING DIGITAL LITERACY IN THE WORKPLACE - HOW RAPID PROTOTYPING IS HELPING BUSINESSES TO UPSKILL WORKERS AND WHAT POLICYMAKERS CAN DO TO HELP

Oct 15, 2026

Boosting digital literacy in the workplace examines how rapid prototyping approaches help businesses upskill workers and how public policymakers can accelerate occupational digital literacy. The brief distinguishes foundational versus occupation-specific digital literacy and argues that job-aligned technical training better builds transferable competencies. It summarizes lessons from U.S. workforce, education, and public leaders and highlights digital skill gaps affecting productivity, noting limited dedicated public investment. It also profiles business initiatives and barriers faced by smaller firms.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Workplace digital literacy overview

Foundational vs. occupational digital literacy

Policy role in enabling competency development

Skills gaps and workforce impact

Evidence on digital skill deficiencies

Productivity drag and employment needs

Employer approaches to upskilling

Valuing broad digital adaptability

Training, credentials, and badges

Barriers and opportunities for policymakers

Lack of public investment for small businesses

Opportunities to support transferrable skills

BOOSTING DIGITAL LITERACY IN THE WORKPLACE HOW RAPID PROTOTYPING IS HELPING BUSINESSES TO UPSKILL WORKERS AND WHAT POLICYMAKERS CAN DO TO HELP BY AMANDA BERGSON-SHILCOCK DECEMBER 2020 It’s a truism that virtually every worker today needs digital skills. But how do we know what kind of skills they need for the workplace, how they can best acquire them, and what competencies or credentials can help them signal their preparedness to employers? And how can public policy help (or hinder) this process of developing occupational digital literacy? A handful of workforce and education leaders scattered across the United States have begun to answer these questions through iterative program and policy development that is closely aligned with business needs on the ground. This “rapid prototyping” process, underway for the past several years, has accelerated dramatically with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and the associated increase in the demand for digital skills. But these bright spots are relatively isolated from each other and suffer from a lack of dedicated public investment. Notably, leaders distinguish between foundational digital literacy — a baseline skillset that workers need to have regardless of industry – and occupational digital literacy, which entails developing specific technology-related skills needed for a particular occupation or industry. Acquiring occupational digital literacy skills is best done in the context of technical skills training for that occupation, rather than as a stand-alone class or program. This brief outlines emerging lessons from this work, culled from recent interviews with business leaders, workforce and education practitioners, and public officials. In addition, the brief identifies timely opportunities for policymakers and advocates to foster the development of effective approaches and speed up the adoption of innovative strategies. This brief builds on previous research from National Skills Coalition that described the extent of digital skill gaps among U.S. workers, which found that nearly one in three U.S. workers (31 percent, or more than 48 million people) had few or no digital skills, and that between 38 and 43 percent of those workers nevertheless were employed in jobs that required moderate or complex computer usage. NSC found that workers spent considerable time and energy covering or compensating for their skill gaps, and that this served as an invisible drag on productivity for workers and the businesses that employ them. NSC’s prior research also explored variations in digital skill gaps by industry, implications for workers of color, and potential areas for federal action. A KEY IMPLICATION OF THIS FINDING FOR POLICYMAKERS IS THAT INVESTING IN OCCUPATIONAL DIGITAL LITERACY SHOULD FOCUS MORE ON OPPORTUNITIES FOR WORKERS TO BUILD INDUSTRYSPECIFIC BUT TRANSFERRABLESKILLS, AND FOCUS LESS ON SINGLE, PROPRIETARY SYSTEMS. 2 BOOSTING DIGITAL LITERACY IN THE WORKPLACE MANY BUSINESSES VALUE WORKERS WHO HAVE A BROAD, FLEXIBLE BASE OF DIGITAL SKILLS While some companies focus on hiring workers with specific digital credentials, a larger number are focused instead on finding workers who are comfortable with a broad range of digital technologies. The ability to confidently download, install, navigate, and use novel software programs or mobile apps is highly valued across industries ranging from construction to logistics to healthcare. Numerous leaders emphasized that the fast pace of change in industry-specific technologies means that it is often much more important for workers to be capable of adapting to a variety of tools than it is for them to memorize one specific tool. This is especially important for workers in industries that have a farflung footprint or a largely remote workforce; when employees are spread across a wide range of job sites, the ability to engage in independent learning becomeseven more urgent. A key implication of this finding for polic

FAQs

What is the difference between foundational and occupational digital literacy?

Foundational digital literacy is baseline skills workers need across industries. Occupational digital literacy focuses on job-specific technology skills tied to particular occupations or industries.

Why does the brief emphasize occupational digital literacy training within the context of job skills?

It states that acquiring occupational digital literacy is best done alongside technical training for the relevant occupation, rather than through stand-alone programs.

What policy direction does the brief recommend for improving occupational digital literacy?

It recommends investing in opportunities for workers to build industry-specific but transferrable skills, while placing less emphasis on single proprietary systems.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Alex Sinclair