{"id":49105,"date":"2014-03-03T04:40:09","date_gmt":"2014-03-03T09:40:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=49105"},"modified":"2014-03-03T04:40:09","modified_gmt":"2014-03-03T09:40:09","slug":"many-ohioans-struggle-with-computers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2014\/03\/03\/many-ohioans-struggle-with-computers\/","title":{"rendered":"Many Ohioans struggle with computers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Connection Ohio information<\/i><\/p>\n

COLUMBUS \u2013 According to Connect Ohio\u2019s recently published report, Training Ohio\u2019s Workforce\u2014Bringing Digital Skills to the Workplace,<\/a> more than 2.7 million working-age Ohio adults say they would have difficulty completing computer-related tasks required by most employers, while two-thirds of Ohio businesses (67 percent) use broadband and need employees who can use it effectively.<\/p>\n

Nationally, 70 percent of businesses consider it \u201cimportant\u201d or \u201cvery important\u201d for employees to have some Internet skills. Many Ohio adults lack the digital skills that employers are seeking \u2014 one in eight Ohio households that do not subscribe to broadband cite a lack of digital literacy skills as a main reason for not subscribing.<\/p>\n

\"Connect<\/a>\u00a0\u201cIn Columbus, we don\u2019t have a problem creating jobs. We have a problem filling jobs,\u201d said Mayor Michael B. Coleman. \u201cWe must train our people to give them skills that will allow them to participate in our economic success.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of the 7.2 million Ohio adults below retirement age, 38 percent say they would have difficulty completing at least one of the following tasks: creating or editing a spreadsheet (33 percent); going online using a mobile device (14 percent); using word processing software (13 percent); and sending or receiving an e-mail (7 percent) without assistance. That represents more than 2.7 million working-age Ohio adults who would have difficulty in performing at least one of these tasks.<\/p>\n

\u201cProviding Ohioans with basic digital literacy training and connecting them to the Internet delivers the opportunity needed to bridge the \u2018digital divide\u2019 and allows for Ohioans to compete on a national and global level,\u201d said Stu Johnson, executive director of Connect Ohio. \u201cTechnical skills in the workplace have already become a requirement and the trend towards a virtual workplace has taken off and will only continue to grow. The proper technical skills can provide anyone, regardless of location, a wealth of endless career opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additional key findings from this report include:<\/p>\n