4. A Digital Europe

4.4 Skills for the digital age

Although Europe’s population is slowly progressing towards mastering the increasingly important digital skills, more is needed to broaden and upgrade the skills set demanded in the digital age.

Broad internet usage does not imply a good level of digital skills.

Within the last decade or so, there has been a steep increase in the share of Europeans using the internet (85% of Europeans had online access in 2018). In many European countries, almost the entire population is active on the internet.

However, the data show that there is a wide gap between basic internet usage and the development of more profound digital skills. While 70% of Europeans go online for information about goods and services, only 7% have used the internet to follow an online course.

Digital skills are slowly improving within the EU.

Europeans have recently improved to reach population shares of about 30% in basic overall digital skills and 40% in software skills. Greece and Sweden have shown the greatest progress in digital skills over the last three years.

On the other hand, the lack of basic digital skills appears to be an issue on the labour market in several Member States, and the ‘use of computer’ ranks as a number one skill demanded by the job markets in Poland and Slovakia.

Increasing levels of digital skills are important to ensure a broad range of opportunities to enter and remain in the labour market.

At the same time, with the rise in e-government, online shopping, banking and smart mobility, acquisition of these skills will prevent individuals not only from being locked out of work but also out of society.

Transversal and soft skills are increasingly important for all types of jobs, including those in the digital sector.

While job and sector-specific skills remain essential to support competitiveness and innovation, transversal skills (including digital skills) are increasingly determining our ability to adapt, progress and succeed in a fast-moving labour market.

The latest evidence suggests a broader set of skills being demanded for the digital age, including not just digital skills but softer ones, such as adaptability, entrepreneurship and multidisciplinarity. This points to a solid base of social skills facilitating interaction and communication with others as a favourable complementary asset for employees in the future.