What I learnt in Brussels on the Future of the Digital Skills Revolution

I think the best place to start is defining what Digital Skills are, as there are many interpretations. Digital skills are the ability to find, evaluate, use, share, and create content using digital devices, such as computers and smartphones. Beyond this there are many levels in terms of abilities but fundamentally when we see a country's digital skills ability in % terms this is what we are evaluating.?

How important are Digital Skills to an economy

It turns out they are incredibly important. For example a national investment by Ireland in digital skills could boost Ireland's gross domestic product (GDP) by €9.5 billion in the next two and half years. This is a country that already has an internet adoption rate of 96%+. Imagine the impact digital skills investment could have on other European countries that can embrace basic digital skills and internet usage. This 2021 European map shows how much of a divide there is.?

We have been running fast since the pandemic. It accelerated the digital transformation, where the old ways of doing things — from shopping to work — changed rapidly. The demand for digital skills was impacted, as companies shifted from offices to embracing a remote and hybrid model.

So how do we close the Digital Skills divide

There are multiple strategies being activated at a European, national and local level in order to provide the minimum digital skills. From a European Commission perspective and given that we are now in the European Year of Skills there are multiple initiatives in place focused on upskilling and reskilling. EIT Digital have produced an incredible report on The Future of Education for Digital Skills highlighting how there is a need for a skills revolution and an educational system fit for the digital age.?

If we start with the big goals set by the European Commission by 2030. They include?

1. 80% of the adult population having basic digital skills?
2. 20 million people employed as digital specialists?
3. A greater convergence of equality in digital employment?

To achieve this what is key is that we bridge education and industry to work together. However, a recent Monte Carlo simulation shows that by 2030 Europe will not reach the first two targets. The current trajectory indicates that by 2030 there will be only 64% of the population with at least basic digital skills and only 13.3 million employed digital specialists. So this is where we need real investment and skills innovation.?

CEO of EIT Digital Federico Menna in an interview in Brussels (Jan 2023)? confirmed that “We need to modernise the digital programmes from school to higher education. It's fundamental to focus on core technologies such as AI, cyber security and semiconductors in key sectors such as green, finance and tech.? Covid was a contingency matter but what is needed now is a strategic change. We need to orchestrate all of the networks.?

The report on page 23 has a brilliant star chart (radar diagram) that outlines the different scenarios around productivity, closing the skills gap, digital literacy, public costs and social cohesion.?

There is no innovation without education

So this is where we like to share some tools that are accessible to you now and can transform bridging the Digital Skills divide.?

1. The first is the empowerment of the individual L&D (learning and development) journey through a digital skills passport. Perhaps not what you think, the passport is not just for acquiring digital skills but in fact accessing a curated skills path relevant to the person. In the population of a Digital Skills Passport and how to use it, will be a step toward digital skills acquisition.?

Example: We are working with government and universities who are white labelling our tools to advance their upskilling and reskilling programmes. Enabling the individual to self manage, you witness greater engagement and education levels than before. By putting it in the hands of the person or their smartphone the learning can happen on the go and be relevant to their desired job or skills. Duo Lingo is a fantastic example of this when it comes to language skills, they now have 500 Million learners globally with 9.1 million engaging daily (Me included, "hablo un poco espanol!")??

2. Secondly, and this ties in with the EIT Digital report recommendation of “European institutions at the university educational level for specialised digital skills are slow to change their curricula.” Visualising the skills on a geo and sectoral map to showcase the skills being acquired and the gap being bridged in real time can have an incredibly powerful impact for demonstrating the ROI, securing more investment and most importantly understanding what future curricula needs to be developed to meet the needs of industry.?

3. Finally if we are being authentic about being a skills first economy then any recruitment whether internally or externally must be based on skills match first and support transferable skills to that if one industry is in decline a person can still be employed in an industry that is thriving. Again we are working with clients who are implementing our skills matching technology to do just this but with the added layer of supporting diversity and ensuring through anonymisation a fairer more inclusive review process happens.

In conclusion

The future is bright if we invest, support and put clear strategies in place for the acquisition of digital skills for all ages and all regions. It is not a siloed exercise but one that requires multiple stakeholders to collaborate with the common objectives.?

By Vanessa Tierney

CEO of Abodoo?

Transforming learning and lives?

For more information on our white labelled skills technologies contact [email protected]

To book an appointment with our Skills Team click here

To download the EIT Digital Report click here ?

Who we are

Abodoo is a skills technology company transforming future learning and lives.?

What we do?

We provide governments and educational institutions, skills software and actionable insights that can bridge the digital divide, empower individual lifelong learning paths and ensure greater inclusivity for the future of work.

How we do this

We achieve this through mapping skills at a macro and micro level, recommending individual learning paths, providing access to unlimited educational providers, implementing an automated inclusive skills matching for marketplaces and giving actionable insights for future skills investment. All of our solutions can be integrated and provided in a white labelled capacity.