Re-Skilling & Up-Skilling Workers During COVID-19

Nanodegree Programs during COVID-19

By many estimates, even with prolonged voluntary & state-mandated self-quarantining in place, many workers in the US are expected to be out of work for 5–9 months due to COVID-19. If, as many epidemiologists predict, a resurgence of COVID-19, in the form of one or many “waves” occurs, this is likely to force workers to self-quarantine for up to 18 months.

A nanodegree is a project and skills-based educational credential program. A nanodegree is meant to help workers gain the credentials they need to advance in their current role (up-skilling) or switch roles enitrely (re-skilling). Many of these programs are sponsored by firms like Google, Amazon, Facebook, & AT&T.

• The average nanodegree program (with 3–4 courses) offered by Udacity lasts 3–4 months with an average of 10 hours of work per week (inclusive of online lessons and homework).
• Presuming a worker can devote 20 hours/week (half the time associated with the typical 40-hour work week), he/she could complete a nanodegree in 1.5–2 months.
• IBM, Google, Hootsuite, amazon, Kaggle, and mode offer nanodegree programs with anywhere from 4–12 courses per program. Additionally, nearly 50% of these courses have “no prerequisites” for enrolling. The average “all-in” cost of a nanodegree from Udacity is $1,500.

Nanodegrees offer the quickest way for workers to develop new skills critical to the future of work in the United states while staying at home. Many of these workers (including the underemployed) would not typically enroll in skills development programs while working a part-time or full-time job. Notably, the 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the federal stimulus package during COVID-19, does not include any provisions for re-skilling workers during the pandemic. State laws still require workers to complete weekly “job search” reports or show proof of skill development during the period they collect unemployment insurance.

Even though the CARES Act extends state-level unemployment insurance, it still requires workers to complete on-going unemployment programs like monthly check-ins with local unemployment offices and show proof of job searches and/or skills development. Currently, Udacity and other nanodegree providers are not considered “eligible” under state unemployment re-training programs.

• We propose that the US government partner with Udacity to offer certain courses and/or programs to those unemployed at a discount or for free.
• The programs offered should target those jobs deemed by the U.S. government as closing the “skills gap.” The graph (right) highlights the biggest gap in certain functions like data analytics, IT, mobile, and web design.

Skills mismatches according to executives in functions that have already adopted AI and automation technologies (McKinsey 2018)

How the United States Government can encourage nanodegree adoption

We see three areas for the US government to promote nanodegree programs during the COVID-19 pandemic:

1. Extend the eligibility guidelines of skill development under state and federal regulations to include online-only programs like Udacity. This will allow workers who would like to develop new skills for future job opportunities to meet the state-level qualifications required for unemployment benefits and possible extensions such benefits. We propose modeling Singapore’s SkillsFuture program which provides skills retraining to both entry and mid-career workers through the use of MOOCs, online certificate programs, and partnerships with private institutions across the globe to develop on-demand virtual skills training programs.
2. The US government should provide subsidies or scholarships to nanodegree programs. Needs-based subsidies of nanodegree programs could take the form of the Federal Pell Grant Program which provides need-based grants to low-income students. Additionally, we recommend a scholarship fund (with stipulations around worker pay-back for incomplete programs) be created in partnership between the US government and those firms in the Fortune 500 who would benefit the most from an expanded qualified candidate pool. The funds in the scholarship program would be pooled and offered on a first-come, first-served basis to unemployed workers who chose to develop new skills during their unemployment period through nanodegree programs.
3. The US government could offer tax-breaks to organizations that hire unemployed workers who recently completed and passed nanodegree programs. These tax-breaks could be added to the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) with the formation of a new “targeted group” called “recently re-skilled workers.” The same rules for applying and receiving the WOTC would carry over to the newly created targeted group.

Potential Barriers to Implementation

Lack of Access (Location-Specific) to High-Speed Internet

•The FCC’s Eighth Broadband Progress Report finds that approximately 19 million Americans — 6 percent of the population — still lack access to fixed broadband service at threshold speeds. In rural areas, nearly one-fourth of the population — 14.5 million people — lack access to this service.

•While federal legislation to guarantee Universal Broadband Access would be nice- it is not something we are likely to see in the next 6–12 months. However, we do see firms like Google partnering with state governments to help bridge the “digital divide” by bringing free high-speed internet to 100,000 rural households in California. These public-private sector partnerships offer an immediate solution to bridging the digital divide while ensuring access to online micro-credential and nanodegree programs.

Lack of Affordable High-Speed Internet

• Microsoft Corp. conducted a study based on the speeds of the connections people were using to access its services and determined that about 163 million Americans weren’t using high-speed internet.
• Price is the biggest reason people who don’t have broadband at home go without, according to a 2019 study by the Pew Research Center. Smartphones are a big factor, too, because many people now use only those. But some researchers found that students who rely on smartphones for homework often fall behind, and applications such as video chat are bandwidth hogs.
• We propose an expansion of the Lifeline program, which gives people poor enough to qualify for food stamps a $9.25-a-month subsidy toward broadband or wireless internet service. This expansion could include increasing the subsidy to half the average monthly cost of broadband internet (estimated to be $40-$55/month depending upon location and provider in the US). This expansion could also target expanded aid to states like Mississippi where, according to the American Community Survey, under 30% of the share of residents use the internet at broadband speeds.

Lack of Computer/Tablet Access

• While data on a state by state basis on access to computers/tablets is sparse, we see private organizations like PCs for People stepping up in local communities to provide access to low-income families. In Colorado, Minnesota and Ohio, PCs for People has been working in overdrive to get computers to kids and families in need.
• We propose increasing state-led “tech drives” (computer/tablet donation drives) to get re-furbished computers/tablets into the hands of people who need them most. Additionally, state partnerships with non-profits like Computers With Causes will increase the visibility of existing programs for low-income individuals.

Learners with Disabilities

• We recognize that online learning may not be for everyone. However, we have found many competency-based programs (including Udacity, Coursera, etc.) offer individualized courses and programs that meet the standards outlined in the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA)- one of the main federal laws meant to assist non-traditional or disabled learners.
• So, for a student with a learning disability such as ADHD or a non-verbal learning disorder, a competency-based program will already be unique to her/his educational goals and tailored to her/his learning habits.

Getting the Word Out & Shifting Mindsets

• Getting millennials and youths aged 16–24 to get interested in exploring re-skilling efforts will require some marketing spend to promote scholarship programs, grant programs, and tax breaks associated with pursuing a nanodegree or micro-credential.
• We envision private and public universities who qualify for these programs/tax breaks as being the best source of marketing for nanodegree/micro credential programs. With additional means to attract students (i.e. financial aid, scholarships, etc.) these universities can appeal to a wider socio-economic range of youth.
• We have found it helpful when explaining our proposed solution to equate the time spent on a nanodegree or micro-credential as one (1) “Netflix and chill” session per week. This idea of spending a minimal amount of time per week focused/engaged on re-skilling allows an individual to better think about an alternative to “Netflix and chilling” during the quarantine period.

nanodegree adoption during COVID-19 pandemic

This “Remote Work & Upskilling During COVID-19” series was compiled as part of a project at Harvard Business School on Managing the Future of Work (Spring 2020).