A new labor market report highlights the disruption that greater automation and increased requirements for digital skills is causing regional workers and the importance of helping workers build digital skills for occupations that can lead to economic opportunity.

The report, “Navigating the Changing Nature of Work,” provides data-driven insights and approaches that can help employers, educators, career counselors, and other workforce development stakeholders chart upskilling and re-skilling pathways to good middle-skill occupations for workers at risk of technological disruption or displaced by the pandemic. 

Key Findings in Brief:

• The integration of automation technologies into the workplace creates a significant risk of disrupting job tasks and skills requirements among Greater Houston’s low- and middle-skill workers.
• More than 50 percent of Greater Houston’s middle-skill jobs face above average risks of automation. 
• Strong digital skills are becoming increasingly necessary for all regional workers, regardless of their industry, occupation or education level. 
• A well-conceived, regional upskilling framework could guide workers as they make decisions about investing limited time and resources to pursue careers with greater mobility.  
• By mapping viable and desirable upskilling progressions for the region’s middle-skill workers, workforce development stakeholders could support the continued growth of the Greater Houston economy and increase economic opportunity for its residents. 

 
The report illustrates that most middle-skill occupational segments in Greater Houston currently require at least a medium level of proficiency in digital skills, and the trend toward increased digital skills likely will continue to rise as employers further integrate digital technologies into their operations. Already six regional middle-skill occupational segments require higher (i.e., medium and high) levels of digital skills. Workers will need continual education and upskilling to achieve the  level of digital skills critical to success across occupational segments today and into the future. 

The report‘s research suggests a strategy for developing viable and desirable pathways across skill levels and occupational segments for workers to transition into new jobs with better prospects for the future.

Download the full report here. 

UpSkill Houston engaged TEConomy Partners, LLC to conduct the research highlighted in this report and in the previously released “Middle Skills Matter to Greater Houston". TEConomy conducted its analysis in the summer of 2019.