Sneak Preview: DOL Seeks Comments on Digital Literacy, Equity
(The following was excerpted from a recent Thompson Grants Compliance Expert article.) The Department of Labor (DOL) is seeking stakeholder comments on ways to promote digital skills attainment and competency (i.e., “digital literacy”) through training efforts that “ensure that individuals are digitally resilient.” In a recent request for information (RFI), DOL also asked for suggested strategies to advance digital equity and inclusion in the workforce, and planned to evaluate submitted comments to better focus priorities in future competitive workforce development grant opportunities.
DOL developed the RFI with input from the departments of Commerce and Education, and the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences. Comments can be emailed to DigitalLiteracyRFI@dol.gov by Feb. 6, 2023, and should be labeled “Digital Literacy/Digital Resilience RFI.”
Digital literacy is defined as “the skills associated with using technology to enable users to find, evaluate, organize, create and communicate information.” Programs funded under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) (Pub. L. 113-39) include digital literacy as a workforce preparation activity, thereby allowing states to use WIOA funding allotments to increase digital literacy for postsecondary education and employment.
As DOL stated in the RFI: “Attaining and maintaining digital literacy is critical to surviving and thriving in modern society, [and] digital resilience signifies having the awareness, skills, agility and confidence to empower users of new technologies and adapt to changing digital skill demands. Going forward, digital literacy will become increasingly important to securing a quality job and the advancement of the American workforce; therefore, it is imperative for federal agencies to better understand current trends in digital literacy and digital skills attainment.”
In addition, to meet directives under President Biden’s Executive Order 13985 on advancing racial equity and support for underserved communities through the federal government, federal agencies are tasked with developing a comprehensive approach to advancing equity for historically underserved and marginalized communities adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) (Pub. L. 117-58) defines digital equity as the “condition in which individuals and communities have the information technology capacity that is needed for full participation in the society and economy of the U.S.” This issue disproportionately impacts Black, indigenous and other people of color, as well as people in rural communities.
(The full version of this story has now been made available to all for a limited time here.)
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