As technology continues to rapidly change the labor force and provide more opportunities for career advancement and upward mobility, rural America is at a disadvantage and at risk of losing a younger generation of the workforce. A lack of access to technology to connect to work and education opportunities is fueling a desire to leave rural communities for urban areas, according to a new report.
While there’s been a big push to provide broadband access to rural parts of the country with a lot of progress made, that access still remains out of reach for many rural residents, according to the report released today by the Center on Rural Innovation and University of Phoenix Career Institute.
“Geography becomes a roadblock where workers living in rural America – regardless of age or background – are more than twice as likely to feel limited in their employment opportunities compared to nonrural counterparts,” according to the G.R.O.W. Generating Rural Opportunities in the Workplace report.
It finds that the slower adoption of technology infrastructure in rural communities is leaving workers there behind when it comes to skills development, implementation of AI, and greater flexibility. Factors that are providing opportunities for upward mobility to the workforce as a whole.
The report also finds that 18% of people living in rural areas rarely or never have access to personal computers compared to just 7% in nonrural areas, and half of those rural residents travel outside their communities in order to get that access.
Rural workers also face a disadvantage when it comes to educational opportunities.
Roughly 76% of people from all areas of the country agree that higher education and continuing education are worthwhile pursuits, but only 48% of workers in rural areas are satisfied with their access to higher education compared to 76% in nonrural areas.
That gap, according to the report, is leaving 49% of rural workers feeling they are being held back in their careers because of where they live compared to 30% among their counterparts in nonrural areas.
With limits on access to education needed for career advancement, the report finds 69% of rural workers have considered relocating to pursue career opportunities elsewhere with younger workers more likely to say that.
“Resulting dissatisfaction could lose rural America critical community members, especially its future generation and its diversity,” states the report.
To address these challenges, the report calls for a “concerted approach to educational access and collaboration across government, employer, and education sectors to gain access to the workforce trends of today’s economy.”
Some of the top priorities for rural workers that are identified: a need for networking, professional development, and staying at the forefront of AI.
To see more details in the G.R.O.W. Generating Rural Opportunities in the Workplace report, click here.
