Digital Inclusion Studies & Publications:
Home Access and Employment
Title: Searching for Work in the Digital Era
Author: Aaron Smith
Publisher: Pew Research Center
Note: While Pew is more of an aggregator than an academic source, they provide excellent empirical data and present it in a way that is easy to read.
Link: http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/11/19/searching-for-work-in-the-digital-era/
Relevant Pages: See Infographs
Job Seeking Infograph: “The internet is a top resource for many of today’s job hunters: Among Americans who have looked for work in the last two years, 79% utilized online resources in their most recent job search and 34% say these online resources were the most important tool available to them”
Resume Infograph: Most Americans are relatively confident in their digital job-seeking skills, but a minority would find it challenging to accomplish tasks such as building a professional resume
Social Media/Job Seeking infograph: Social media users from a range of age groups use these platforms for employment-related purposes
Research/online application: It seems universal that most people who look for jobs apply online and do research online. On the same page there is a nice demographical breakdown.
Online resources infograph: Roughly 1/3 of people who job search says the internet is their most important resource
Digital Skills confidence infograph: This shows the comfort of unemployed people, in relation do doing simple tasks such as email, do an online job application, etc.
Abstract:
“The internet is an essential employment resource for many of today’s job seekers, according to a new survey by Pew Research Center. A majority of U.S. adults (54%) have gone online to look for job information, 45% have applied for a job online, and job-seeking Americans are just as likely to have turned to the internet during their most recent employment search as to their personal or professional networks.
Yet even as the internet has taken on a central role in how people find and apply for work, a minority of Americans would find it difficult to engage in many digital job seeking behaviors – such as creating a professional resume, searching job listings online, or following up via email with potential employers. And while many of today’s job seekers are enlisting their smartphones to browse jobs or communicate with potential employers, others are using their mobile devices for far more complex and challenging tasks, from writing a resume to filling out an online job application.”
Title: Connect Your Community Employment Impact Survey
Author: Bill Callahan and Samantha Cycyk
Publisher: Connect Your Community
Year: 2012
Note: Easy representation of data
Link: http://connectyourcommunity.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/CYC-Project-Cleveland-SBA-employment-impact-survey.pdf
Relevant Pages: All
Abstract:
“Connect Your Community, a One-Community led program that provides computer and broadband training and access to underserved populations, is helping participants improve their job prospects and their ability to research health and education information online, according to a telephone survey of program graduates in Cleveland. A total of 624 CYC participants completed the survey. 91.3% of all respondents now regularly access the internet –a vital important fact considering that most jobs are now advertised only online. Among those who said they undertook the training mainly for employment reasons, 43% have since found new or better jobs, received a promotion….”
Title: Employer Perceptions of Critical Information Literacy Skills and Digital Badges
Author: Victoria Raish and Emily Rimland
Publisher: Pennsylvania State University
Year: 2016
Link: http://crl.acrl.org/content/77/1/87.short
Relevant Pages:
Page 94 – shows logistics of companies who responded
Page 95 – beginning of survey results
Page 97 – hiring importance table
Abstract:
“Digital badges are an educational innovation used to measure learning of specific skills, such as information literacy. However, few studies have quantitatively surveyed employers for their perceptions about information literacy skills or digital badges. An online survey was developed and sent to employers to gauge perceptions of information literacy skills of college graduates and the use of the innovation of digital badges to represent competencies that students have accumulated. Here are the results of the survey: information literacy and meta-literacy skills are valued in the workplace; employers would like more detailed representations of student skills; and digital badges are a possible way to showcase student achievement.”
Title: Does having digital skills really pay off
Author: Ji Eun Chung
Publisher: OECD
Year: 2015
Link: http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/does-having-digital-skills-really-pay-off_5js023r0wj9v-en
Relevant Pages: All
Abstract: Direct Quote
“With the widespread diffusion of ICT, it is often claimed that “digital skills” – the capacity to use ICT devices and applications to access and manage information and solve problems – have become essential skills. Is this really true? Do people who are highly proficient in these skills have better chances of participating in the labor force and earn higher wages than those who are less proficient?
The Survey of Adult Skills (a product of the OECD Programmed for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies, PIAAC) provides some answers by testing the ability of adults to solve problems that require the use of common computer applications, such as e-mail, web browsers and spreadsheets.”