European Commission
This year’s Report on the ‘State of the Digital Decade,' shows that increasing digital skills in the population is one of the biggest challenges of the EU, with 46% of Europeans, particularly among older people, currently not equipped with basic digital skills – against the set target of 80% by 2030. Equally important is to ensure we meet the target number of ICT specialists, to avoid falling behind in the technological race. At this rate, by 2030 we will have 12 million ICT specialists, missing our target of 20 million. While the number of ICT specialists employed in the EU is growing, the Report highlights that a majority of companies looking for ICT specialists continue to report substantial difficulties in recruitment. The EU needs to step up its efforts in the global race for talents, particularly in the field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
How can this be done in practice?
The Commission is organising a CONNECT University session of about 2 hours on Tuesday 27 February 2024 to discuss precisely this question.
The workshop will be divided into two main parts:
- The first part will feature two presentations setting the scene on where the EU stands with regards to the ICT specialists (advanced digital skills) target.
- The second part will be an open panel discussion with a number of experts, focusing on what different sectors are already doing to contribute to improving ICT skills, what are the challenges ahead of us, and what more can be done.
Draft Agenda
10:00 – 10:10 – Setting the scene – ICT Skills in the 2023 Report on the ‘State of the Digital Decade’
Speaker: Eric PETERS, Acting Head of Unit, Digital Decade Coordination, DG CONNECT
10:10 – 10:25 – What is the EU doing to improve advanced digital skills?
Speaker: Rehana SCHWINNINGER-LADAK, Head of Unit for Interactive Technologies, Digital for Culture and Education, DG CONNECT
10:25 – 11:30 – Panel discussion
Moderator: Brendan Rowan, Managing Consultant at BluSpecs
Speakers:
- Jack Hamande, Director General Simplification & Digital Transformation, Belgian Federal Public Service Policy and Support (BOSA)
- Justina Bieliauskaite, Innovation Director, European DIGITAL SME Alliance
- Madhumalti Sharma, Entrepreneur & tech educator, EU Code Week Ambassador, EU Robotics National Coordinator
- Marc Durando, Executive Director of EUN, European Schoolnet network
- Martin Hayes, Professor of Digital Technologies at the University of Limerick & lead author of the “Deans report” on How do we reach the target of 20 million ICT professionals by 2030
- Mylène Richard, Director of Campus Région du Numérique Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region
11:30 – 11:50 – Q&A with online participants
11:50 – 12:00 – Conclusion - Rehana SCHWINNINGER-LADAK, Head of Unit for Interactive Technologies, Digital for Culture and Education, DG CONNECT