The Need for (Increased) ICT Skills in the Era of Digitalization

2021 ◽  
pp. 34-55
Author(s):  
Nicole Palan ◽  
Andreas Schober
Keyword(s):  
Skill Levels ◽  
Large Variability ◽  
Ict Skills ◽  
Digital Infrastructure ◽  
Advanced Economies ◽  
Interesting Conclusion ◽  
Job Offers ◽  
Education Levels ◽  
Skill Requirements ◽  
High Skill

Automation and digitalization have had profound effects on job losses as well as on skill requirements in advanced economies. This chapter analyzes the spatial distribution of ICT-skills requirements by analyzing some 73,000 job offers for the Austrian region of Styria. This region is characterized by a large variability of specialization patterns throughout its districts as well as differences regarding population density and infrastructure accessibility. The analysis allows to draw conclusions on the need for both basic and special ICT-skills for different education levels for 287 municipalities. The results also draw light on problems related to the new “digital divide” indicating the phenomenon that people have access to digital infrastructure but not yet acquired the digital competences to find work. One interesting conclusion is also that high-skill ICT-requiring jobs have the highest level of agglomeration – both compared with other skill-levels and with non-ICT related academic job positions.

Establishing an International Standards Framework and Action Research Agenda for Workplace Readiness and Success

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliya Golubovich ◽  
Rong Su ◽  
Steven B. Robbins
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
The United States ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Business Systems ◽  
Skill Levels ◽  
Work Systems ◽  
Transferable Skills ◽  
Workplace Readiness ◽  
Critical Skills ◽  
Skill Requirements

Employers both in the United States and internationally are facing difficulties hiring workers who meet the skill requirements of 21st century jobs. This chapter focuses on the skill requirements of middle-skill jobs and argues for building a talent supply chain with standards that workforce entrants need to meet. The chapter provides a framework summarizing these skill requirements. By establishing a framework of critical skills for workplace readiness, identifying valid assessments of these skills, and defining expected skill levels for a targeted subset of jobs, expectations of what it means to be ready for the workplace can be articulated and education and business systems can communicate using a common set of standards. These activities will help link a “broken” talent supply chain by bridging education and work systems and by encouraging individuals to seek out transferable skills as they seek livable wage jobs and meaningful employment.

scholarly journals Pelagic Sargassum Prediction and Marine Connectivity in the Tropical Atlantic

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. GCFI20-GCFI30
Author(s):  
Donald R. Johnson ◽  
James S. Franks ◽  
Hazel A. Oxenford ◽  
Shelly-Ann L. Cox
Keyword(s):  
Surface Current ◽  
Current Data ◽  
Ocean Current ◽  
Tropical Atlantic ◽  
Skill Levels ◽  
Vector Correlation ◽  
Marine Connectivity ◽  
Pelagic Habitat ◽  
Arrival Dates ◽  
High Skill

Since 2011, pelagic Sargassum has experienced extraordinary blooms in the Tropical Atlantic where a system of persistent but seasonally variable currents has retained and consolidated it in large masses. Although beneficial at sea, principally as a unique pelagic habitat, when Sargassum inundates the nearshore environment it can have catastrophic effects on tourism, fisheries, health, and local ecosystems. Providing advanced warning of arrival dates of large masses of Sargassum is critical for enabling preparations and planning for its removal, use, and mitigation. Predictions of arrival time and location involve satellite identification of Sargassum at sea together with ocean current data for forward model tracking. However, forecast ocean current data are generally valid for only 5—7 days. In this study, ocean currents from 2 models (HYCOM and OSCAR) are validated against satellite tracked drifters from the Global Drifter Program with vector correlation and with skill in replicating a drifter pathway. Various wind additions to the models are also tested. Although both models capture the surface current systems in the Tropical Atlantic, they are mediocre in performance along both boundaries. In contrast, a drifter based current data model with 0.5% wind addition had high skill levels. This skill—tested drifter—based model was then used to determine marine connectivity across the Tropical Atlantic and suggests a much broader spread of Sargassum in the eastern Tropical Atlantic than is presently observed by satellites, conforming to earlier hypotheses. This model forms the basis for seasonal scale Sargassum forecasting.

scholarly journals Exploring the Self-Reported ICT Skill Levels of Undergraduate Science Students

10.28945/2334 ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 019-047 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk Heerwegh ◽  
Kurt De Wit ◽  
Jef C. Verhoeven
Keyword(s):  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Personal Computer ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Perceived Usefulness ◽  
Science Students ◽  
Skill Levels ◽  
Important Place ◽  
Ict Skills

Computers have taken an important place in the training of science students and in the professional life of scientists. It is often taken for granted that most students have mastered basic Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) skills; however, it has been shown that not all students are equally proficient in this regard. Starting from theories of socialization and technology acceptance we report how we constructed a structural equation model (SEM) to explore the variance in the basic ICT skill levels of science students. We also present the results of a test of this model with university bachelor’s science students. Basic ICT skills were measured using a new, elaborate instrument allowing students to rate their skills in detail. Our results show that science students score high on basic ICT skills and that our SEM explains a large part of the variation in the ICT skill levels of these students. The most explanatory power is coming from four variables: the perceived ease of use and the perceived usefulness of a personal computer, the anxiety for using a personal computer, and students’ belief that ICT is necessary for scientific research.

Value-chain activities and individual wages

2018 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Márquez-Ramos
Keyword(s):  
Emerging Economies ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Wage Premium ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Skilled Workers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Advanced Economies ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
High Skill

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of whether emerging economies benefit or suffer more because of value-chain activities than advanced economies do. Specifically, it focuses on the consequences in terms of individual wages. Design/methodology/approach Panel data techniques are used to estimate an expanded Mincerian wage equation over the period 1995-2007. The analysis is performed using micro-level data for two countries that represent two different experiences of value-chain activities in Central Europe: Germany and Slovenia. Findings Increasing value-chain activities reduce wages for low-skilled workers in high-skill-intensive industries in Germany, hence driving up the skill wage premium. Conversely, evidence is found of a decreasing skill wage premium as a consequence of increasing value-chain activities in Slovenia. Finally, increasing value-chain activities reduces the wages of workers in low-skill-intensive industries in both Germany and Slovenia. Originality/value This paper analyses the effect of value-chain activities on wages. It is the first empirical assessment that brings individual wage data directly into the picture for an international comparison focussed on two Central European countries that represent “two faces” of value chains. This paper shows that the effects of increasing value-chain activities on wages differ by country, by industry and by individual skills.

Peda.net: a learning portal for lifetime

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-16
Author(s):  
Mari Erika Koskela
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
Physical Environment ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Use Cases ◽  
Ict Skills ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The World ◽  
Working Together ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Skill Requirements

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to give an overall image of how Finnish-developed Peda.net can help educators teach their students according to the ICT skill requirements set by Finnish national curricula. Design/methodology/approach In the paper, two different Peda.net use cases are introduced. These cases can give important practical tips on how to involve more ICT in schools for educators worldwide. The use cases are evaluated and agree with Finnish National Curricula requirements. Findings Peda.net is an e-learning environment. However, using it as part of teaching is a good way of introducing ICT skills in students regardless of whether working together in the same physical environment or remotely from different locations. Originality/value This paper can open up a global discussion of best ICT teaching practices and give some practical ICT teaching tips for teachers all around the world.

scholarly journals Biography in the Museum

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-189
Author(s):  
Joanna Szady
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Role Model ◽  
Skill Levels ◽  
Visual Message ◽  
Historical Education ◽  
Educational Potential ◽  
High Skill ◽  
Education Process

This article presents the biography of Saint Zygmunt Szczęsny Feliński (1822–1895), which is the basis for the exhibition in the museum dedicated to the memory of this outstanding nineteenth-century figure of the Polish Church. The cognitive and educational potential of Archbishop Feliński's life is emphasised in the narrative layer of the exhibition by means of modern multimedia solutions. The museum uses various forms of visual message, aimed both at viewers who prefer traditional exhibition solutions, as well as those with high skill levels and technological expectations. The Museum of St Zygmunt Feliński plays an important role in the historical education process and popularises the biography of the archbishop as a role model for life and action. By spreading the cult of the saint, it also meets the religious needs of visitors through contact with the material and spiritual heritage of the exhibition’s protagonist.

scholarly journals Gender, Education and Socioeconomic Status: Economic Theories, Credentialism and Beyond

1993 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-36
Author(s):  
Jean Mckenzie Leiper
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Human Capital ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Work And Family ◽  
Human Capital Theory ◽  
Family Responsibilities ◽  
Skill Levels ◽  
Capital Theory ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
High Skill

Human capital theory, market signalling theory and credentialism are explored as ways of explaining the relationship between formal education and socioeconomic status. For both men and women, years of schooling and diplomas or degrees help to ensure access to high-skill jobs which carry high socioeconomic status. The market signalling approach is relevant for men because skills, are positively associated with socioeconomic status: employers value diplomas and degrees if they indicate that employees bring high skill levels to the labour market. The market signalling approach is not confirmed for women in this study. Some economists suggest that human capital theory is limited because it assumes women make voluntary choices to limit their education and job experience in favour of family responsibilities. Credentialism, by discounting the importance of skills acquired in school, ignores the issue of gender-based power differences that are related to skills. New theories are needed to address the issues of work and family commitments for both women and men.

The Unintended Consequences of an Algebra-for-All Policy on High-Skill Students

2012 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 489-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takako Nomi
Keyword(s):  
Test Scores ◽  
Interrupted Time Series ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Remedial Math ◽  
Skill Levels ◽  
Algebra For All ◽  
Series Design ◽  
Ninth Grade Students ◽  
High Skill ◽  
Interrupted Time Series Design

In 1997, Chicago implemented a policy that required algebra for all ninth-grade students, eliminating all remedial coursework. This policy increased opportunities to take algebra for low-skill students who had previously enrolled in remedial math. However, little is known about how schools respond to the policy in terms of organizing math classrooms to accommodate curricular changes. The policy unintentionally affected high-skill students who were not targeted by the policy—those who would enroll in algebra in its absence. Using an interrupted time-series design combined with within-cohort comparisons, this study shows that schools created more mixed-ability classrooms when eliminating remedial math classes, and peer skill levels declined for high-skill students. Consequently, their test scores also declined.

scholarly journals Innate talents: Reality or myth?

1998 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 399-407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. A. Howe ◽  
Jane W. Davidson ◽  
John A. Sloboda
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Negative Evidence ◽  
Skill Levels ◽  
The Real ◽  
Early Experiences ◽  
High Skill ◽  
Contrary Evidence

Talents that selectively facilitate the acquisition of high levels of skill are said to be present in some children but not others. The evidence for this includes biological correlates of specific abilities, certain rare abilities in autistic savants, and the seemingly spontaneous emergence of exceptional abilities in young children, but there is also contrary evidence indicating an absence of early precursors of high skill levels. An analysis of positive and negative evidence and arguments suggests that differences in early experiences, preferences, opportunities, habits, training, and practice are the real determinants of excellence.

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