IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

As city governments continue to grow more technology-centric, they need to embrace universal cybersecurity education to reduce the risk of breaches and attacks, a group of technology leaders said during an online event Tuesday.

“If anyone breaks on the security chain, you’re vulnerable,” Jeanne Holm, Los Angeles’ deputy mayor for budget and innovation, said during an online conference hosted by Bloomberg CityLab.

The report comes on the heels of a Feb. 1 update from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that reveals jobs in the healthcare sector will outpace growth in other sectors through 2020.

“Given the prevailing air of economic uncertainty in America and the unprecedented level of support for health information technology from the federal government, growth in health information systems may represent an untapped market for both job creation and market savings,” the brief states.

As government and other groups that work directly with communities across the country increasingly prioritize digital equity, programs to train new experts in the field are steadily growing.

Digital inclusion training programs are rapidly increasing, experts in the space say. The spike is a direct result of society — from government, to nonprofits, to individuals themselves — pushing for digital equity after COVID-19 made clear the importance of closing the digital divide.

"We looked at the knowledge of younger and older programmers on 10 technologies that have been developed in the last 10 years," said Dr. Emerson Murphy-Hill, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at NCSU and co-author of a paper on the study. "For the most part, older and younger developers don't vary greatly on their knowledge of those technologies."

As public-sector technology advances, so are the hiring practices of state and local government agencies, many of whom now consider more than just advanced degrees when looking for top talent.

According to a recent study by Intelligent.com, about one-third of young adults 18 to 24 who aren’t currently enrolled in college cannot afford to attend. And while there is more than one perspective on recent federal student loan forgiveness programs, some facts are undeniable. College is more expensive than ever before: The costs of a degree have significantly outpaced wage growth and inflation for decades.

The tech sector’s recovery from the Great Recession is good news everywhere but within government IT departments. When the economy tanked, one of the few bright spots was a surge in the number of skilled technology workers applying for public-sector jobs. But with private companies hiring again, governments are struggling to compete for IT talent.

To make matters worse, a good chunk of the public-sector IT workforce is poised to leave. The sour economy delayed the long-predicted baby boomer retirement wave, but it’s still coming. Many state and local IT departments will see a quarter to a third of their employees become eligible for retirement in the next few years—the ratio is as much as half in some places. Financial uncertainty that kept these workers on the job over the past few years is easing, and changes to pensions may help push them out the door.

National broadband expert and independent consultant John Horrigan suggested in a Board of Experts of a recent California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF) meeting that the public and private sector stop using the phrase “digital divide,” arguing that the issue is less about access to hardware and more about the skills to use them.

The University of Illinois-Chicago study examined features on local government websites that could contribute to civic engagement through information about government and community as well as through interactive or participatory opportunities online. The research is based on content analysis of government websites in the 75 largest U.S. cities and 20 largest Illinois cities between March and May 2011.

Online and onsite courses for government employees will begin in June.

The Center for Government Excellence, also known as GovEx, is launching a new training center aimed at helping public employees embrace emerging trends in government technology, including data management, analytics, community engagement and more.

The center will feature a curriculum available online or through customizable onsite trainings, said Eric Reese, GoxEx’s associate director of training. With an application deadline of May 25, the first courses will begin June 27.

"(People) will come in and find a whole new scientific world," said Karen Varieur, director of BCC's eHealthCareers. "Seeing is believing."

The third floor of former Cherry & Webb building at 800 Purchase St. added five free-standing classrooms, a computer lab, a Center for Instructional Technology Expertise (CITE) lab, and faculty space for a total of 4,828 additional square feet of campus.

A new public safety mobile application may soon help emergency response coordinators stay up-to-date on their volunteer teams and improve coordination with other public safety groups.

Called CERTify, the app enables Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) coordinators to send messages and assignments to team members during an emergency situation. It also enables decision-makers to keep a closer eye on volunteers’ safety and rescue credentials, to ensure that their skills and certifications are current.

New York City Office of Technology and Innovation recently released its strategic plan that looks to improve the city’s overall posture in the technology space — starting with an effort to improve technical literacy.

The New York City Office of Technology and Innovation's (OTI) new strategic plan, released in October, outlines the city’s forthcoming approach to technology advancement with a notable emphasis on improving the technical skills of constituents and staff alike.

As the Office of Management and Budget looks to get more active in helping agencies with cybersecurity, the Office of E-Government and Information Technology has several IT jobs available to fill immediately.

OMB is standing up the E-Gov Cyber Unit and has "a critical hiring need" for IT specialists.

The program tailored for would-be CIOs is accepting applications through Sept. 10. The CGCIO is the only training program of its kind, according to a university press release.

A pilot project led by the South Carolina Department of Aging and Palmetto Care Connections aims to teach seniors the digital skills they need to combat social isolation and access telehealth services.

A project led by the South Carolina Department on Aging (SCDOA) and Palmetto Care Connections (PCC) is looking to reduce the digital divide among seniors by teaching them necessary skills for the digital age — like how to access digital tools, from emails to telehealth.

Jobs that require some college education will tend to demand digital literacy, especially in the aftermath of COVID-19. A report suggests that states can play a bigger role in meeting the growing need for digital skills.

A new Benton Foundation report advises states to address digital skills training as part of regional economic development strategies in order to fill the middle-skill jobs of the future.

Susan Fenton, assistant professor for the department of health information management, spearheaded the research. The department received a two-year Texas Work Force Grant totaling $880,000, making the groundbreaking research possible.

Fenton said the research aims to find an estimate of needed health IT workers for the state so educational institutions can develop a plan for the future. Elizabeth Joost, grant director for the department of health information management, said no one has done research similar to this. “I would say (Fenton) was on the cutting edge,” Joost said.

A new report from the National Skills Coalition used data from 43 million online job postings to assess digital skills demand. The findings reveal that the vast majority of jobs now require some type of digital skills.

A record 92 percent of jobs now require definitely digital or likely digital skills, according to a new report from the National Skills Coalition.

But higher education is at a breaking point. Tuition is skyrocketing. State funding is dropping. And online course providers are on the rise.

Cost is a major barrier for accessing higher education. A 2011 Pew Research Center survey on the cost and value of higher education found that 75 percent of respondents said college is too expensive for most Americans to afford. And 57 percent said the U.S. higher education system does not provide students a good return on their investment.