- Today, 93% of European workplaces use desktop computers and there is almost no job that does not require at least basic digital skills. To illustrate, in 2016, half of European construction workers needed basic digital skills to perform their jobs.
- And yet, a vast majority of workplaces (88%) have not taken any action to tackle the lack of digital skills of their employees.
- For the first time in history, young people are more proficient at a sought-after skill than their older peers. This may have profound ramifications for labour markets that are still very much based on seniority and years of experience.
- Unequal access to digital skills and technologies often overlaps with known cracks in social protection systems. And, with the rise of e-government, online shopping, banking and smart mobility, lack of basic digital skills may lock individuals not only out of work, but also out of society.
Just as numeracy and literacy skills are fundamental for every citizen, regardless of discipline and profession, so too are digital literacy skills. They will become necessary to succeed in today’s society and labour markets where ubiquitous connectivity is the new normal.
The future is already here
Poland’s digital natives
As part of its ‘Digital Poland’ strategy, Poland has committed over 170 million euro by 2020 to develop and promote the digital skills of all Poles and all age groups. The strategy reaches out to people at risk of digital exclusion (people of 50+ age, from rural areas or with disabilities), while also supporting gifted ICT students/ programmers, through its e-Pionier programme that organises competitions to develop innovative solutions with wider value for society or public policy. In addition, all pupils starting from their first year of primary education already have compulsory coding lessons, while all Polish schools will be connected to fast broadband by the end of 2018.
Poland has the fourth-largest pool of science graduates in the EU and a large workforce that is ‘digitally-enabled’, or in other words able to perform digitally-related jobs. Poland’s IT sector has been growing fast in recent years, and the high availability of qualified professionals has drawn in multinational companies operating in the IT field. Estimates suggest that Poland could increase the economic value added of its economy by 13%-22% by means of digitisation, so investing in its populations’ digital skills is the smart choice ahead.
