Comcast, Goodwill Industries International (GII), and World Education have developed and launched the Goodwill Digital Navigator Certificate Specialization training program.
The program aims to equip community supporters with skills to enable them to thrive in the quickly changing advanced digital workplace. The announcement specifically mentions career counselors, coaches, library, and community center staff as vocations that could benefit from the training.
The digital training was made available to GII employees in the United States during the past month, and now can be accessed by anyone.
The program costs $49 and consists of three courses. Those completing the training receive a digital navigator certificate via Coursera and 15 hours of continuing course education credit from the International Coach Federation.
There is a great need for such training, according to the announcement. It says that almost one-third of workers from 16- to 64-years of age have limited or no digital skills. That’s a particularly thorny problem because the organization also says that 38% or more of those workers have jobs that require moderate or advanced computer use.
Indeed, the announcement points to the National Skills Foundation finding that 92% of current job listings require digital skills. This digital divide in job readiness more strongly impacts people of color: About half of Black workers and 57% of Hispanic workers lack “robust” digital skills.
“We must employ innovative strategies and solutions to give everyone access to the technology and skills necessary to thrive in today’s digital world,” GII President and CEO Steve Preston said about the digital training. “As part of a new era of workers, digital navigators are key to helping job seekers adapt to the momentous changes AI and automation are bringing.”
