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<div class="header__meta header__meta--date"> September 14, 2026</div>
<div class="header__meta header__meta--taxonomy header__meta--tax-program_tax"> UpSkill America, and Economic Opportunities Program</div></div></div>
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<p class="has-medium-variant wp-block-paragraph">Reading, writing, English language proficiency, numeracy, and digital skills are the building blocks of everything else, from effective job performance to further learning and advancement. Skipping over or assuming these foundational skills are in place can lead to frustration for employers and employees alike.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Over the last several months, <a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/programs/upskill-america/">UpSkill America</a> has interviewed more than a dozen employers from a variety of industries across the United States about how and why they invest in foundational skills development for incumbent employees and in the talent pipeline. We have also interviewed foundational education providers, including technology-based platform leaders, college partners, community-based organizations, and intermediary organizations, which employers rely on to support their training needs.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Our intent with this body of work is to shed light on employers’ perspectives on foundational skills, how skill deficiencies impact business, and especially the strategies and approaches employers leverage to help workers build their skills. This brief describes our early findings, identifying emerging themes and implications for the field. Over the next six months, we will continue to conduct interviews and release additional insights about how employers consider and prioritize foundational skills in their workforce strategies, and how education providers are responding.</p>
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<div data-wp-interactive="core/file" class="wp-block-file"><object data-wp-bind--hidden="!state.hasPdfPreview" hidden class="wp-block-file__embed" data="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Foundational-Skills-Early-Insights-from-Employers-and-Providers.pdf" type="application/pdf" style="width:100%;height:600px" aria-label="Embed of Foundational Skills Early Insights from Employers and Providers."></object><a id="wp-block-file--media-afa44ea6-be29-41f7-bd51-8107b9c59542" href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Foundational-Skills-Early-Insights-from-Employers-and-Providers.pdf">Foundational Skills Early Insights from Employers and Providers</a><a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Foundational-Skills-Early-Insights-from-Employers-and-Providers.pdf" class="wp-block-file__button wp-element-button" download aria-describedby="wp-block-file--media-afa44ea6-be29-41f7-bd51-8107b9c59542">Download</a></div>
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<h2 id="h-about-upskill-america" class="wp-block-heading has-h4-variant">About UpSkill America</h2>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/programs/upskill-america/">UpSkill America</a>, an initiative of the Economic Opportunities Program, supports employers and workforce organizations to expand and improve high-quality educational and career advancement opportunities for America’s front-line workers.</p>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-h4-variant" id="h-about-the-economic-opportunities-program">About the Economic Opportunities Program</h2>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The Aspen Institute <a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/programs/economic-opportunities-program/">Economic Opportunities Program</a> advances strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income people thrive in a changing economy.</p>
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<h2 class="dyn-card__title has-h5-variant"><a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/blog-posts/the-workforce-of-the-future-starts-with-adult-basic-education/">The Workforce of the Future Starts with Adult Basic Education</a></h2><div class="dyn-card__excerpt">To create a future-ready workforce system, we must move beyond outdated credentials and analog processes to one that is skills-first, transparent, data-driven, and aligned with the evolving needs of workers, educators, and employers.</div><p class="dyn-card__meta dyn-card__date"><button class="favorite" data-id="319204" data-state="" title="Favorites are not currently available" disabled><span class="favorite__on">Unfavorite</span><span class="favorite__off">Favorite</span><svg class="svg svg--svg-assets-svg-icon-bookmark" role="img" focusable="false" height="15" width="11"><use xlink:href="#svg-assets-svg-icon-bookmark"/></svg></button><time>September 16, 2026</time></p><ul class="dyn-card__meta dyn-card__people"><li class="dyn-card__person"><a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/people/haley-glover/">Haley Glover</a></li><li class="dyn-card__person">Sharon Bonney</li></ul> </div>
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<a class="dyn-card__image-link" href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/publications/foundational-skills-early-insights-from-employers-and-providers/" tabindex="-1">
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1001" height="1500" src="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/GettyImages-626469398-1001x1500.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large" alt="Foundational Skills: Early Insights from Employers and Providers" style="object-position: 50% 50%" /> </a>
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<span class="has-meta-variant">Publications</span> </div>
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<h2 class="dyn-card__title has-h5-variant"><a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/publications/foundational-skills-early-insights-from-employers-and-providers/">Foundational Skills: Early Insights from Employers and Providers</a></h2><div class="dyn-card__excerpt">This publication examines how fragmented skills, credentialing, and workforce data systems limit the potential of skills-based hiring and advancement, and outlines a shared vision for building the interoperable infrastructure needed to create a connected skills ecosystem that benefits workers, employers, educators, and governments.</div><p class="dyn-card__meta dyn-card__date"><button class="favorite" data-id="318971" data-state="" title="Favorites are not currently available" disabled><span class="favorite__on">Unfavorite</span><span class="favorite__off">Favorite</span><svg class="svg svg--svg-assets-svg-icon-bookmark" role="img" focusable="false" height="15" width="11"><use xlink:href="#svg-assets-svg-icon-bookmark"/></svg></button><time>September 14, 2026</time></p><ul class="dyn-card__meta dyn-card__people"><li class="dyn-card__person"><a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/people/chelsea-miller/">Chelsea Miller</a></li></ul> </div>
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<a class="dyn-card__image-link" href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/videos/how-tax-policy-can-help-employers-expand-access-to-learning/" tabindex="-1">
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1280" height="720" src="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/UpSkill-Nick-Greif-Interview-Card.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large" alt="How Tax Policy Can Help Employers Expand Access to Learning" style="object-position: 50% 50%" /> </a>
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<span class="has-meta-variant">Podcasts</span> <span>Videos</span> </div>
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<h2 class="dyn-card__title has-h5-variant"><a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/videos/how-tax-policy-can-help-employers-expand-access-to-learning/">How Tax Policy Can Help Employers Expand Access to Learning</a></h2><div class="dyn-card__excerpt">In this interview, Chelsea Miller of Upskill America speaks with Nick Greif of InStride about how employers can design education benefits that are more accessible, strategic, and aligned with workforce goals.</div><p class="dyn-card__meta dyn-card__date"><button class="favorite" data-id="318780" data-state="" title="Favorites are not currently available" disabled><span class="favorite__on">Unfavorite</span><span class="favorite__off">Favorite</span><svg class="svg svg--svg-assets-svg-icon-bookmark" role="img" focusable="false" height="15" width="11"><use xlink:href="#svg-assets-svg-icon-bookmark"/></svg></button><time>September 8, 2026</time></p><ul class="dyn-card__meta dyn-card__people"><li class="dyn-card__person"><a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/people/chelsea-miller/">Chelsea Miller</a></li></ul> </div>
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<a class="dyn-card__image-link" href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/blog-posts/adult-working-learners-vote-with-their-feet-what-employers-are-learning-about-foundational-skills/" tabindex="-1">
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/GettyImages-2182998150-1500x1000.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large" alt="Adult Working Learners Vote With Their Feet: What Employers Are Learning About Foundational Skills" style="object-position:56% 42%" /> </a>
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<span class="has-meta-variant">Blog Posts</span> </div>
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<h2 class="dyn-card__title has-h5-variant"><a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/blog-posts/adult-working-learners-vote-with-their-feet-what-employers-are-learning-about-foundational-skills/">Adult Working Learners Vote With Their Feet: What Employers Are Learning About Foundational Skills</a></h2><div class="dyn-card__excerpt">Putting people at the center of the systems we are building means accepting that career paths are rarely linear. It requires us to build infrastructure that accommodates life transitions, recognizes informal learning, and values a worker’s agency over their own data. </div><p class="dyn-card__meta dyn-card__date"><button class="favorite" data-id="308996" data-state="" title="Favorites are not currently available" disabled><span class="favorite__on">Unfavorite</span><span class="favorite__off">Favorite</span><svg class="svg svg--svg-assets-svg-icon-bookmark" role="img" focusable="false" height="15" width="11"><use xlink:href="#svg-assets-svg-icon-bookmark"/></svg></button><time>September 1, 2026</time></p><ul class="dyn-card__meta dyn-card__people"><li class="dyn-card__person"><a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/people/chelsea-miller/">Chelsea Miller</a></li></ul> </div>
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<a class="dyn-card__image-link" href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/videos/the-impact-of-foundational-skills-on-workforce-success/" tabindex="-1">
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1041" height="701" src="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-25-at-3.25.31-PM.png" class="attachment-large size-large" alt="The Impact of Foundational Skills on Workforce Success" style="object-position: 50% 50%" /> </a>
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<span class="has-meta-variant">Podcasts</span> <span>Videos</span> </div>
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<h2 class="dyn-card__title has-h5-variant"><a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/videos/the-impact-of-foundational-skills-on-workforce-success/">The Impact of Foundational Skills on Workforce Success</a></h2><div class="dyn-card__excerpt">This is the final event in our Job Quality in Practice series. In this conversation, hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program on May 7, 2026, we hear from the Institute’s Job Quality Fellows who are embedding job quality into their work across a range of contexts and strategies — from employee ownership models that give workers a direct financial stake in their company’s success, to apprenticeship programs that create structured pathways to higher-wage careers, to worker advisory committees that bring employee voice into business decision-making.</div><p class="dyn-card__meta dyn-card__date"><button class="favorite" data-id="306850" data-state="" title="Favorites are not currently available" disabled><span class="favorite__on">Unfavorite</span><span class="favorite__off">Favorite</span><svg class="svg svg--svg-assets-svg-icon-bookmark" role="img" focusable="false" height="15" width="11"><use xlink:href="#svg-assets-svg-icon-bookmark"/></svg></button><time>August 25, 2026</time></p> </div>
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<a class="dyn-card__image-link" href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/blog-posts/making-skills-first-work-for-small-businesses/" tabindex="-1">
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1500" height="791" src="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/GettyImages-2265572165-1500x791.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large" alt="Making Skills-First Work for Small Businesses" style="object-position:56% 42%" /> </a>
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<span class="has-meta-variant">Blog Posts</span> </div>
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<h2 class="dyn-card__title has-h5-variant"><a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/blog-posts/making-skills-first-work-for-small-businesses/">Making Skills-First Work for Small Businesses</a></h2><div class="dyn-card__excerpt">Putting people at the center of the systems we are building means accepting that career paths are rarely linear. It requires us to build infrastructure that accommodates life transitions, recognizes informal learning, and values a worker’s agency over their own data. </div><p class="dyn-card__meta dyn-card__date"><button class="favorite" data-id="291881" data-state="" title="Favorites are not currently available" disabled><span class="favorite__on">Unfavorite</span><span class="favorite__off">Favorite</span><svg class="svg svg--svg-assets-svg-icon-bookmark" role="img" focusable="false" height="15" width="11"><use xlink:href="#svg-assets-svg-icon-bookmark"/></svg></button><time>August 18, 2026</time></p><ul class="dyn-card__meta dyn-card__people"><li class="dyn-card__person"><a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/people/chelsea-miller/">Chelsea Miller</a></li><li class="dyn-card__person">Ebony D. Thomas</li></ul> </div>
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<a class="dyn-card__image-link" href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/blog-posts/ai-decisions-are-workforce-decisions/" tabindex="-1">
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1500" height="1001" src="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/GettyImages-503870858-1500x1001.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large" alt="AI Decisions are Workforce Decisions" style="object-position:38% 19%" /> </a>
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<div class="dyn-card__label">
<span class="has-meta-variant">Blog Posts</span> </div>
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<h2 class="dyn-card__title has-h5-variant"><a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/blog-posts/ai-decisions-are-workforce-decisions/">AI Decisions are Workforce Decisions</a></h2><div class="dyn-card__excerpt">Back to where we started, AI is not creating one future. It is opening up several. Which one gets created may depend on whether the people closest to the work bring their voice, and name what no one else is naming.</div><p class="dyn-card__meta dyn-card__date"><button class="favorite" data-id="280110" data-state="" title="Favorites are not currently available" disabled><span class="favorite__on">Unfavorite</span><span class="favorite__off">Favorite</span><svg class="svg svg--svg-assets-svg-icon-bookmark" role="img" focusable="false" height="15" width="11"><use xlink:href="#svg-assets-svg-icon-bookmark"/></svg></button><time>July 30, 2026</time></p><ul class="dyn-card__meta dyn-card__people"><li class="dyn-card__person"><a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/people/chris-huyck-trout/">Chris Huyck Trout</a></li></ul> </div>
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<a class="dyn-card__image-link" href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/blog-posts/people-at-the-center-how-we-think-about-designing-systems-change-for-impact/" tabindex="-1">
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/GettyImages-2133993642-1500x1000.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large" alt="People at the Center – How We Think About Designing Systems Change for Impact" style="object-position:56% 42%" /> </a>
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<span class="has-meta-variant">Blog Posts</span> </div>
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<h2 class="dyn-card__title has-h5-variant"><a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/blog-posts/people-at-the-center-how-we-think-about-designing-systems-change-for-impact/">People at the Center – How We Think About Designing Systems Change for Impact</a></h2><div class="dyn-card__excerpt">Putting people at the center of the systems we are building means accepting that career paths are rarely linear. It requires us to build infrastructure that accommodates life transitions, recognizes informal learning, and values a worker’s agency over their own data. </div><p class="dyn-card__meta dyn-card__date"><button class="favorite" data-id="269588" data-state="" title="Favorites are not currently available" disabled><span class="favorite__on">Unfavorite</span><span class="favorite__off">Favorite</span><svg class="svg svg--svg-assets-svg-icon-bookmark" role="img" focusable="false" height="15" width="11"><use xlink:href="#svg-assets-svg-icon-bookmark"/></svg></button><time>July 21, 2026</time></p><ul class="dyn-card__meta dyn-card__people"><li class="dyn-card__person"><a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/people/chelsea-miller/">Chelsea Miller</a></li></ul> </div>
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<ul class="post-taxonomy"><li class="post-taxonomy__term"><a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/people/chelsea-miller/">Chelsea Miller</a></li></ul>
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<p>The post <a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org/publications/foundational-skills-early-insights-from-employers-and-providers/">Foundational Skills: Early Insights from Employers and Providers</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.aspeninstitute.org">Aspen Institute</a>.</p>