Skills partnership launched in effort to meet Digital Decade targets

A new EU skills partnership is set to drive forward the up- and re-skilling of workers in the digital sector, a key element of the Digital Decade targets, progress on which has been criticised by some as being too slow. 

Launched by the Commission on Monday (18 July), the skills partnership for the Digital Ecosystem, which falls under the EU’s Pact for Skills, is intended to spur up- and re-skilling programmes across the digital sector, an area in which the fast pace of technological development often necessitates rapid retraining of the workforce. 

The partnership’s initial aim is to contribute to the achievement of the Digital Decade targets, under which the Commission is striving to increase the number of ICT specialists and ensure gender convergence in the sector, as well as to up the level of basic digital skills amongst the EU population, by 2030. 

Last week, the European Parliament, Council and Commission arrived at a political deal on a tool to support national governments in working towards these goals. Concerns have been raised, however, about both the rate of progress on reaching the targets so far and disparities between member states. 

EU institutions agree on governance framework for the digital transition

The EU Council, Parliament and Commission reached a political deal on the Path to the Digital Decade on Thursday (14 July).

Skills action

The partnership is an initiative of the EU Pact for Skills, which was launched in 2020 under the European Skills Agenda. The Pact constitutes a plan for mobilising resources to fund skills programmes with the involvement of many partners across 14 industrial ecosystems, including digital. 

The Commission noted that developments over the past few years have led to an uptick in demand for digital technologies and infrastructure. Still, significant gaps remain in both their provision and levels of digital abilities across member states. 

A key goal of the Digital Decade targets, set last year, is to have 80% of the EU’s population possess basic digital skills by 2030. Beyond this, the Commission aims to have at least 20 million additional ICT specialists in place by the end of the decade and to ensure convergence between men and women in these roles. 

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Based on a series of preparatory stakeholder consultations, the new partnership aims to contribute to the achievement of these targets, along with the skills goals included in the EU Skills Agenda and the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan. 

As a second aim, the partnership will establish concrete commitments focused on this digital up- and re-skilling as well as improving knowledge-sharing around good practices and engaging with European Digital Innovation Hubs, centres that provide technical expertise and support to companies developing digital technologies or services. 

Gender focus 

The partnership’s aims were crafted in response to several issues in the digital ecosystem, including the existing shortage of ICT specialists, the speed of digital transformation and burgeoning cybersecurity challenges. 

Alongside these, the lack of lifetime and gender balance within the sector was also identified as a key obstacle. The Commission notes that an absence of crucial digital skills can lead to discrimination against older people in the job market and that ICT and STEM remain male-dominated fields.

While the Digital Decade targets include a pledge to bridge existing gender and diversity gaps in the ICT sector, many advocates for further action in this area have noted that skills-building alone will not solve the issue and that attention to the position of and opportunities for women throughout their careers in tech must be taken into account. 

Addressing gender inequalities crucial to closing digital gaps, say Commission officials

Efforts to address the gender imbalances in the tech sector will be fruitless without action to close the gender pay gap more generally, the European Commission’s former Deputy Director-General for Communication has said. 

Speaking at a panel during the Huawei Summer School for Female Leadership in the Digital Age, held in Prague this week, Zoey Stambolliu, Infrastructure & Security Policy Manager at trade association DIGITALEUROPE, called for a “lifecycle approach” to ensuring stronger gender representation in digital fields, with particular attention to retaining women in the sector. 

To increase the inclusion of women in these areas, companies must first develop some self-awareness, said Bianka Siwinska, CEO of the Perspektywy Education Foundation, a non-profit working to promote the participation of women in STEM. 

Siwinska added that this should start with them turning a mirror on themselves and asking basic questions about the concrete obstacles and working environments for the women and people from minority groups working within their own organisations. 

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Greater female participation is needed at all stages of the tech product and policy development process in order to prepare for a digital future that works for all, say innovators and industry figures.

Speaking at the G20 Women’s Forum held in …

[Edited by Luca Bertuzzi/Nathalie Weatherald]

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