3 The Opportunity Ahead: A Call to Action for American Skills and Jobs assessing their current employer engagement and to suggest strategies for expand partnerships with employers to support the implementation of job-driven employment practices. Universal Availability of Low-Cost Online Learning Tools In recent years there has been an explosion of massive open online courses (MOOCs), by which high- quality college courses have become available to the masses. This explosion has mostly been driven by users who are already highly educated, many of whom have bachelor’s or master’s degrees. These users are generally accessing the online content to refresh subjects that they have previously studied or to learn a little about new topics they are considering pursuing. There is a huge opportunity to develop online content that could be used to help upskill America. As one example, Skylab Learning is a startup that has developed several new gaming apps with “snackable” (five- to 10-minute) units that teach vocabulary tailored to workers in the food service industry. The games work on laptops, tablets, and mobile phones. The workers served by the program generally work in low-wage occupations as food service workers, retail employees, and home health care employees. A 2013 evaluation pilot in public libraries in Boston and San Francisco, and in BJ’s Wholesale Clubs in New York and Florida, found that 50 percent of participants improved their English language skills by at least one level, as measured by national ESL testing benchmarks, and that the gains occurred over 10-12 weeks, suggesting a more efficient learning experience than longer instructional programs. The Administration will work closely with innovators, employers, training organizations, and state and local officials across the country to identify and spur the promotion of the most promising tools and technologies to dramatically increase the upskilling opportunity for American workers and employers: Launching a $25 million Online Skills Academy. An online skills academy will offer open online courses of study, using technology to create high-quality, free or low-cost pathways to degrees, certificates, and other employer-recognized credentials. These pathways will help students prepare for in-demand careers. Courses will be free for all to access, although limited costs may be incurred for students seeking college credit that can be counted toward a degree. Leveraging existing models, the investments will help students earn credentials online through participating accredited institutions, and expand the open access to curriculum designed to speed the time to credit and completion. Other providers can use and augment the open content to provide in-person or other wrap-around services and offer their own degrees or certificates. The online skills academy will leverage the burgeoning marketplace of free and open-licensed learning resources, including content developed through the TAACCCT grant program accessible through DOL’s online repository, to ensure that workers can get the education and training they need to advance their careers, particularly in key areas of the economy. The Department of Labor will provide funding to launch the academy through a grant competition in 2015. To launch the online skills academy, DOL will competitively award $25 million in funds to a consortium to develop career pathways leading to industry-recognized credentials, certificates, and degrees in in-demand fields on an open learning platform. Each pathway would include elements such as competencies recognized by industry and academia; learning resources; high-quality assessment tools; and technology that allows for continuous course improvement. Applicants would 70