What Is The Skills Gap?

On today’s episode of Upskill With Edtech we are lucky enough to have two esteemed guests, one of whom is Jaime Fall, Director of UpSkill America at the Aspen Institute, an employer-led movement to expand opportunity for America’s workers and communities by promoting training and advancement practices to help workers progress in their careers and move into better-paying jobs. We also have Molly Bashay, a State Policy Analyst with the National Skills Coalition, who is working to advance skills policies through research and analysis of state workforce policies, advocacy assistance and policy implementation support. 

The conversation defines the term "skills gap” and making clear that there are a multitude of skills gaps that need to be addressed and overcome. The guests also identify various resources and organizations working hard to help create an equitable and informed workforce of learner workers. 

The Upskill With Edtech podcast series is produced by Getting Smart as part of ISTE’s SkillRise initiative. Our editor and music man is Trevor Stout. Be sure to subscribe to this podcast and leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you listen. For additional valuable ideas about edtech, adult learning, and upskilling, check out SkillRise.org, where you can download the SkillRise framework and find other great resources. You can also keep up to date by following our Twitter feed @SkillRiseOrg or you can join the conversation in our Workforce EdTech LinkedIn Group. Thanks for tuning in!

• 1:00 Brandon introduces our guests
• 2:15 Jaime speaks to the notion that there are multiple skills gaps and helps to define the term
• 3:30 Molly continues to define skills gaps
• 5:30 Our guests talk about the barriers to skills acquisition and growth
• 8:05 Jaime talks about Upskill America and how they are helping learner workers prepare
• 10:00 Molly discusses National Skills Coalition’s work to combat the skills gap
• 12:42 What does it mean to be a working learner?
• 13:45 Molly and Jaime discuss the ways in which policy can support work learners
• 15:50 Innovations in workplace design and working models
• 17:05 Jaime highlights some organizations that are providing great workaround services for family support and educational resources
• 18:05 Molly adds to Jaime’s list of resources and tools.
• 19:55 Molly discusses the notion that apps may be able to aid in the transition to a digital workforce
• 21:45 Jaime discusses the promise of video training and virtual reality training