In the first installment of a three-part series on esports, Site
Selection Managing Editor Adam Bruns dives into why skills developed in
the metaverse may not need to leave it. This reporting is supported by
the Higher Education Media Fellowship at the Institute for Citizens &
Scholars. Watch for future installments on collegiate esports and
esports business growth, as well as stories later this fall on technical
skills certifications and programs promulgated by Big Tech, and
corporate initiatives to better engage a neurodiverse workforce
Coursera this week released its Industry Skills Report 2021. Building on the global online
education giant’s Global Skills Index 2020, the report analyzes the proficiency of
Coursera learners across 10 industries in a set of 26 skills in the business,
technology and data science domains. “Each industry we tracked reported an
acceleration in the need for technology skills to account for — at minimum — the
lack of physical interaction induced by the pandemic,” the 77-page report states.
“These are changes that appear unlikely to recede as the pandemic does; rather,
companies will continue to move forward with digitalization at an accelerated pace.”
Drawing on its universe of more than 82 million learners on the Coursera platform
and over 2,000 global businesses, Coursera find the industries with the highest
skills proficiencies are manufacturing, financial services, and automotive. As for
specific skills, the table below lists the top 10 trending skills by domain. Read
more about how Coursera worked with the country of Costa Rica by providing 50,000
grants to citizens last year, and how Coursera helped Google
expand its own Google Career Certificate program last year. — Adam
Bruns
Covalent Lithium announced September 1 that it has entered into a
long-term lease for a 40-hectare (nearly 100-acre) site in the Kwinana
Strategic Industrial Area (SIA) in Western Australia where it will
commence construction of a lithium refinery. A JV between subsidiaries
of Wesfarmers and Chilean company SQM, the Covalent Lithium refinery is
part of the integrated Mount Holland Lithium project, said a release
from the Government of Western Australia. The project is expected to
create 1,000 construction jobs and 350 operations jobs, and will have
the capacity to support the production of batteries for up to 1 million
electric vehicles each year. Located about 10 miles south of Fremantle
Port, the Kwinana SIA is a center for chemical and resource-based
processing industries. Th project is one of three lithium refineries
under construction in Western Australia. Led by the Department of Jobs,
Tourism, Science and Innovation and delivered by DevelopmentWA’s
Industrial Lands Authority, the region’s 13 SIAs are located close to
major resources projects and key infrastructure, and are designed for
downstream processing and other industrial activities.
We’ve all heard of HQ2. But HQ3? HR technology company Checkr last week
announced it would open its “third headquarters” in Orlando, creating
more than 600 new jobs in the next three years. The company, which
leverages AI to make background checks faster, easier, and more
compliant, will invest $2.7 million in the region. Its other HQs are in
San Francisco and Denver. “The Orlando Economic Partnership helped
Checkr understand not only the region’s compelling business case but
also the business community’s commitment to diversity, equity, and
inclusion, which aligned with the company’s mission of building a fairer
future for job candidates,” said a Checkr news release. “The City of
Orlando made a more competitive business case for Orlando versus San
Antonio and Albuquerque, supporting the company with its STRIVE job
creation incentive program,” a a performance-based incentive that
promotes job creation and growth in areas facing barriers to economic
prosperity.
Set in the bustling Southeast, only minutes from Charleston, SC, Camp
Hall was designed for both thriving commerce and sustainability.
Recently ranked #7 in Industrial Parks in the Nation, Camp Hall can
provide your business:
Global access via a connected interstate rail system, nearby
airports, and The Port of Charleston, the deepest port on the
eastern seaboard.
A rapidly growing, diverse workforce of over 500,000 in the
Charleston market.
A range of 13- to 600-acre, build-ready tracts with permits and
infrastructure in place.
With over $200 million in construction already taking place at Camp Hall
you can still stake a claim in this first-of-its-kind industrial
workspace. Schedule a site visit today at camphall.com or call us at 843.761.4070.
SITE SELECTION
RECOMMENDS
Looking to pay somebody big bucks to scope out the investment climates
of various nations? Before you do, take a look at the U.S. Department of
State’s Investment Climate Statements, which provide
detailed information on the business climates of more than 170 countries
and economies. They are prepared by economic officers stationed in
embassies and posts around the world and analyze a variety of economies
that are or could be markets for U.S. businesses of all sizes.
Complementing that business intelligence are the 140 or so Country Commercial Guides assembled by the U.S.
Department of Commerce’s Global Markets/U.S. & Foreign Commercial
Service (GM/US&FCS) and State’s Partner Post Program. Topics include: a
market overview; leading sectors for U.S. exports; customs, regulations
and standards; techniques for selling U.S. products and services; and
business travel. As the government itself puts it, “the Country
Commercial Guides provide the foundation for a U.S. company’s research
in preparing international business plans or responding to overseas
market opportunities.”
PHOTO OF THE
DAY
Photo by Shoayb Khattab courtesy of
v2com
The portfolio of images by Shoayb Khattab for the House of Wisdom
project in Sharjah, UAE, was selected as Jury winner of an Architizer+
2021 award in the Photography + Video Category, in addition to being
shortlisted for other awards including the Loop Design Award 2021.
Inspired by the original House of Wisdom in Baghdad, the 12,000-sq.-m.
(129,170-sq.-ft.) House of Wisdom in Dubai is “the modern-day
interpretation of a knowledge hub where all can come seeking
enrichment,” designed so that “every room, every space, and every angle
has been purposefully designed like rhythmic verses of an eloquent
poem,” says a release from Shoayb Khattab Photography. The facility,
opened in December 2020 by His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Muhammed
Al Qasimi, ruler of Sharjah, is a model for future libraries that blend
traditional and digital sources of knowledge, interactive learning and
contemporary schooling, and aims to be the location for conferences and
events as well as educational courses and sessions for all ages.
