To type by touch means you do not look at the keys as you type, which frees you to focus your attention on the materials and information you're using to create your document. Conversely, the hunt-and-peck method means you watch where your fingers go on the keys and are "hunting" out each key as you type. This splits your attention between the task of typing and whatever materials you are referencing.
Training your fingers where to go on the keyboard through touch and repetition enables you to increase in proficiency. Those who are proficient in touch typing can type a page of text much faster than the those who hunt and peck. According to PC Magazine, hunt-and-peck typists average anywhere between 20 and 30 words per minute, whereas touch typists double that number by accurately typing 50 to 60 words per minute on average. Seasoned typists can reach even higher speeds than that, toward and over 100 words per minute.
Most computers come with a QWERTY keyboard -- so named because the first six letters on the first row of letter keys has that letter progression. While the QWERTY keyboard remains the standard, the Dvorak keyboard, named for its creator Dr. August Dvorak, was created to avoid what he felt were awkward keystroke combinations that contributed to common errors and inefficiency. While the QWERTY keyboard was initially created to place common two-letter combinations on opposite sides of the keyboard to prevent keys from sticking on manual typewriters, the Dvorak keyboard cuts down on this now unnecessary "hurdling" on modern keyboards. Touch typists would, therefore, require re-training in order to gain the proper proficiency with these types of keyboards.
Elementary schools across the United States have begun phasing out handwriting courses that teach cursive skills in favor of keyboarding classes. This prepares young students to compete in the job force with marketable typing skills. In 2011, the state of Indiana alerted school officials that teachers could opt out of teaching cursive altogether at the elementary level in order to make even younger students more proficient in keyboard use. This would force those hunt and peck typists to learn how to type by touch in order to compete in a workforce where younger colleagues are better trained.