92% of jobs require digital skills, yet 57% of adult Latinos have little to no digital skills training.
Contact: Lizette Olmos Godfrey
The Aspen Institute
lizette.olmosgodfrey@aspeninstitute.org
Miami, FL, July 14, 2023 – The Aspen Institute Latinos and Society released the Aspen Principles for digital success in Miami, Florida on Friday, July 7th. According to a 2023 report from the National Skills Coalition, “92% of jobs require digital skills, yet 57% of adult Latinos have little to no digital skills training, compared to only 31% of the general population who are lacking.” Members of the Aspen Latino Digital Success Task Force have created a set of four key principles of digital success, focused on access, skills, empowerment and sustainability that they presented.
“The Aspen Principles for Latino Digital Success were conceived as a series of guidelines to inform the design and implementation of digital equity efforts targeting the Latino community in the United States, said Domenika Lynch, Executive Director, Aspen Institute Latinos and Society Program said. “We are delighted to host the national launch of this toolkit in Miami-Dade, joined by local leaders in the digital inclusion ecosystem, national subject matter experts in our Aspen Latino Digital Success Task Force, and senior Federal officials, including Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator, Alan Davidson, FCC Chief of Staff Narda Jones, and Mark Madrid, Associate Administrator for the Office of Entrepreneurial Development (OED) at the U.S. Small Business Administration.
According to NTIA’s Internet Use Survey Data, only 54 percent of Latinos used a desktop, laptop or tablet in 2021. And about a quarter of U.S. Latinos are smartphone-only Internet users.
“Internet service is not a luxury – it’s a necessity,” said NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson. “That’s why I’m thrilled to celebrate the launch of the Aspen Principles for Latino Digital Success. These principles will help in reaching our shared goal: connecting everyone to the Internet and providing the skills and devices they need to thrive online.”
“We are thrilled to launch our collaboration with the Miami-Dade ecosystem to pilot our Principles for Latino Digital Success. We hope that we can learn from the local initiatives, codify the experience, and replicate best practices in other markets. The opportunity to ensure digital success for Latinos is now, and we must leverage federal funding opportunities to promote economic inclusion for our communities,” said Diego Deleersnyder, Associate Director, Aspen Institute Latinos and Society Program.
Latinos are the youngest cohort of the US population, with a median age of 29.8, almost nine years lower than the median age of 38.5 for the entire U.S. population (USA Facts 2021). The US Department of Labor also estimates that Latinos will represent 78% of net new workers between 2020 and 2030 (Dubina 2021). As a result, it is in the best interest of the US economy to ensure that Latinos can fully benefit from and contribute to the opportunities brought on by current and emerging technologies—either at home, in the workplace, in the classroom, or in applied environments such as health care or financial services.
Aspen Latinos launched the Latino Digital Success Task Force in 2022, bringing together a diverse group of leaders from the corporate, nonprofit, and public sectors to address what success in a digital economy looks like for Latinos around the country. The task force constitutes a brain trust that aims to inspire action by companies, workforce organizations, and elected officials to better support the Latino community in the transition to an increasingly digital workplace and business environment. It also seeks to shift the narrative around Latinos and technology and raise awareness of the opportunities and resources available to Latino talent.
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