Reports and Studies about Digital Skills

This meeting brought together Member States representatives from the Digitising European Industry and Artificial Intelligence platform, as well as the subgroup on Digital Skills of the Digital Single Market Strategic Group.

There are many stereotypes and preconceptions about artificial intelligence, fuelled in no small part by science fiction books and films. But in reality AI should be considered as a tool, albeit a highly sophisticated one that is constantly evolving and improving as our human intelligence deepens. As the EU launches its coordinated plan on artificial intelligence to accelerate the development of this key technology for the benefit of all, we take a look at how AI is in fact already very much a part of our day-to-day lives.

A remarkable line up of speakers and an engaged audience led to an inspiring session. Here is a report of that session.

The International Digital Economy and Society Index (I-DESI) measures the digital economy performance of EU28 Member States and the EU as a whole in comparison with 17 non-EU countries, using a similar methodology to the EU DESI index.

On 7 May 2018, the European Commission DG CONNECT and EMPL announced the creation of the High-Level Expert Group on the Impact of the Digital Transformation on EU Labour Markets.

The Digital4Her conference ended with useful conclusions and suggestions via the message board and the various panels and speeches from inspiring men and women.

Skills for digital marketing, social media, cybersecurity, web development and data analytics are what small and medium enterprises (SMEs) most want to improve on. These are the interim findings of a European pilot project which will now pilot training courses in these areas for SME employees and unemployed in Murcia, Spain and in Lithuania. The final objective is to develop “blueprints” to upskill small businesses all over Europe.

The general report gives an update on how the EU is delivering on its 10 priorities, including the Digital Single Market.

Digital skills are not only required in the ICT sector, but increasingly across all sectors. Knowledge of cybersecurity, data analytics and machine learning for example are needed in fields as diverse as banking and manufacturing, farming and health. A computer-literate workforce is also vital to maintain Europe’s global competitiveness in a fast-changing world.

Digital Opportunity Traineeships – an EU-funded training initiative – aims to help companies fill vacancies with digitally competent candidates. Despite high levels of unemployment in Europe, 40% of enterprises looking to fill ICT specialist jobs say they have difficulties finding the right people.