1.

Digital skills and competences have become vital in almost every sector of society and the economy, and are a cornerstone of social inclusion, well-being, active citizenship, employability, productivity, security and growth. All citizens need digital skills and competences in order to live, learn, work, exercise their rights, be informed, access online services, communicate, consume, and create and disseminate digital content.

2.

In particular, the European Council conclusions of 9 February 2023 (1) emphasised the need for bolder, more ambitious action to further develop the skills that are required for the green and digital transitions through education, training, upskilling and reskilling. Under Decision (EU) 2023/936 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2), the period from 9 May 2023 to 8 May 2024 was designated as the ‘European Year of Skills’, the overall objective of which is to further promote a mindset of reskilling and upskilling in accordance with national competences, law and practice.

3.

The first principle of the European Pillar of Social Rights (3) states that ‘everyone has the right to quality and inclusive education, training and lifelong learning in order to maintain and acquire skills that enable them to participate fully in society and manage successfully transitions in the labour market’. Furthermore, the 2022 European Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles for the Digital Decade (4), which sets out how Europe’s values and fundamental rights should be applied to the digital world, states that everyone ‘should be able to acquire all basic and advanced digital skills’. In this context, education and training systems have been called on to support the development of the digital skills of all citizens. Non-formal providers are also addressing this need by supporting a rich and varied educational offer for young people and adults.

4.

The Union of Equality strategies (5) adopted by the Commission emphasise the important role of quality and inclusive education and training as an enabler for progress towards a Union of equality for all, regardless of gender, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. Furthermore, within this context, special attention should be paid to vulnerable and socio-economically disadvantaged groups, persons with disabilities and people living in rural and remote areas and the outermost regions. Stereotypical expectations limit girls’ and women’s aspirations to choose a field of study or training and to pursue a professional career in the digital sector. This in turn influences the design of digital products, where women’s and girls’ needs or specificities might not be adequately taken into account. In line with the declaration Commitment on women in digital, action is needed to achieve equal participation across sectors and in particular in the digital sector.

5.

The Commission’s Digital Education Action Plan 2021-2027 (6) sets out Europe’s approach for education in the digital age and considers the development of digital skills and competences as a strategic priority. The plan states that a sound understanding of the digital world should be part of formal and non-formal education. This is particularly important in the context of the ongoing digital transformation and the impact of emerging digital tools, based for instance on generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems and other emerging technologies. This implies the need for education and training institutions to prepare people for a creative, safe, ethical and responsible use of technology, based on an understanding of how it functions.

6.

In 2022 the Commission launched a structured dialogue with Member States on digital education and skills. After the ministerial debate which took place during the November 2021 Education, Youth, Culture and Sport (EYCS) Council, Member States nominated their representatives for the high level group of national coordinators for the structured dialogue, with the mandate to represent the relevant departments in their countries responsible for different aspects of digital education, training and skills (including education, labour, digital, culture, industry and finance). The outcomes of the structured dialogue highlighted a number of common challenges and demonstrated Member States’ need to share best practices and benefit from support and cooperation to strengthen the development of digital skills and to improve the provision of digital skills in a lifelong learning perspective.

7.

The Council Recommendation on key competences for lifelong learning (7) lists the confident, critical and responsible use of, and engagement with, digital technologies for learning, at work, and for participation in society as one of the eight key competences for lifelong learning. The Digital Competence Framework for Citizens (DigComp) (8) sets out the key elements of digital competence in five interrelated areas with different proficiency levels. The framework is used by education, training and certification providers as a reference for the development and assessment of digital skills.

8.

The relevance of digital skills for society and employability is supported by a series of targets on attainment levels. With the Council Resolution on a strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training towards the European Education Area and beyond (2021-2030) (9), the Council committed to a Union-level target on young people’s digital skills, with the aim of reducing the share of low achievers in computer and information literacy to less than 15 % by 2030. The Digital Decade Policy Programme (10) includes a commitment to achieve, by 2030, a digitally skilled population and highly skilled digital professionals, where at least 80 % of those aged 16-74 have at least basic digital skills and at least 20 million ICT specialists are employed within the Union, while promoting the access of women to the field and increasing the number of ICT graduates.

9.

However, available data show that across Member States participating in the International Computer and Information Literacy Study, on average approximately 34 % of eighth-grade students were rated as underachieving in computer and information literacy in 2018 (11) (against a target of 15 %). In 2021, only 54 % of people in the Union aged 16-74 had at least basic digital skills (12), over half of Union companies reported difficulties filling vacancies for ICT specialists (13), and only 9 million people across the Union worked as ICT specialists (14). In ICT-related professions, men accounted for 81 % of the overall figure (15). These figures confirm the need to further support the development of digital skills, including by addressing the gap between rural areas and cities and the high impact that age, socio-economic background and education have on the level of digital skills.

10.

Efforts are needed for basic as well as advanced digital skills. In this context, the New European Innovation Agenda (16) emphasises the need to focus on talent development in the deep tech sector. To this end, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology has been entrusted with coordinating the Deep Tech Talent initiative, which aims to train one million people within deep tech fields throughout the Member States by 2025. Other strategic initiatives of the Commission include the Cybersecurity Skills Academy, which has already been launched and which aims to promote cybersecurity skills and increase the number of cybersecurity professionals in Europe (17).

11.

The Commission’s Digital Education Action Plan 2021-2027 proposed the development of a European Digital Skills Certificate to enhance the transparency and recognition of digital skills certification. While work has already been done to establish standards for the ICT profession, which covers all ICT sectors with a well-established body of knowledge that has been adopted by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) (18), further work is needed to attract a larger and more diversified pool of talent into the digital sector. As stated in the 2022 skills and talent package (19), in order to remain globally competitive, the EU needs to become more attractive to talent from around the world. The Blue Card Directive, (20) which was adopted in 2021, makes it easier for highly skilled migrants to join the EU’s workforce, including by facilitating the recognition of their professional skills. Moreover, the Commission is launching, together with interested Member States, Talent Partnerships with key partner countries. These partnerships combine direct support for mobility schemes with capacity building and investments in human capital. Talent Partnerships are open to all skill levels and could concern various labour market sectors, such as ICT.

12.

The Council conclusions on digital education in Europe’s knowledge societies (21) call for digital education that covers media, digital and data literacy, critical thinking and the fight against mis- and disinformation, hateful and harmful speech, and cyberbullying and addiction. Furthermore, the Council conclusions on supporting well-being in digital education (22) reflect upon the need to consider the key role that digital skills play in ensuring the well-being of all players involved in the teaching and learning process.

13.

In education and training, the development of digital skills and competences is ensured through various approaches (23), and each level of education and training faces different challenges (24). Furthermore, considering that children are engaging with digital technologies from an increasingly young age and mostly from home (25), digitally competent teachers in early childhood education and care (ECEC) play a key role in supporting families and young children in better understanding the opportunities and risks of the digital world in a more equal and inclusive manner. In this context, it is particularly important to ensure that children can safely navigate the digital environment and harness its opportunities, and also to anticipate and counter the misuse by learners of AI and other emerging technologies, by promoting a good understanding of these technologies and explaining how to safely exploit their potential.

14.

The Council Recommendation on blended learning approaches for high-quality and inclusive primary and secondary education (26) specifically calls for efforts in boosting the development of the digital skills and competences of learners and teachers, taking into account the digital divide and the digital gender gap. In this context, the structured dialogue confirmed that in primary and secondary education, digital skills are developed with a combination of approaches (27), and that many Member States are reviewing their curricula in order to better promote digital skills (either as a dedicated subject or integrated within or across subjects). Another emerging trend in some Member States is the introduction of informatics (28) or computational thinking as separate subjects or their inclusion in an existing core curricular area such as mathematics or science. Regardless of curricular choices, it is necessary to promote quality education in these areas, supported by age and developmentally appropriate teaching methods, quality resources, gender-balanced uptake, representation, and proper evaluation (29).

15.

A range of Council acts (30) have highlighted the importance of digital skills and competences at all levels and in all types of education and training. They encourage major efforts towards the promotion of excellence in the development of digital skills and competences for all learners in schools, vocational education and training (VET), higher education, adult learning and for all levels of digital skills, from basic to advanced. In addition, these acts underline that education and training institutions are instrumental in accelerating the green and digital transitions in Europe and that education and training institutions play an important role in effectively integrating digital skills across all of their activities, for instance by providing a learning offer that addresses ICT professionals and provides digital skills in sector-specific curricula.

16.

The European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan (31) proposes clear targets for adult participation in training (60 % by 2030), including in the area of digital skills. The Council Resolution on a new European agenda for adult learning 2021-2030 (32) focuses, among other things, on formal, non-formal and informal learning opportunities for adults, specifically how to increase and improve the provision, promotion and take-up of adult learning, including in view of the green and digital transitions, while the Council Recommendation on Upskilling Pathways: New Opportunities for Adults (33) recognises digital competence as one of the three basic skills that all adults should develop. Despite policy attention, adult participation in training is low, including in the area of digital skills, and the provision of digital skills to adults is scattered and uneven (34). Member States are seeking to address this through existing and new initiatives included in their recovery and resilience plans and by involving various stakeholders such as the social, voluntary, non-governmental sector and non-formal education institutions. Individual learning accounts, as set out in the related Council Recommendation (35), may help increase the number of people engaging in training each year through a combination of incentives, including financial incentives.

17.

The Council conclusions on European teachers and trainers for the future (36) highlight that teachers are a driving force who need to be involved in the creation of education and training policies but who also need to be supported through a comprehensive approach to their initial education, induction and continuing professional development. It is in the area of digital competence that most teachers feel a strong need for professional development (37). Moreover, the structured dialogue highlighted the challenges most Member States face in recruiting, retaining and preparing teachers, especially in informatics (for primary/secondary education and VET) or other specific/advanced digital areas (for higher education).

18.

Various initiatives by Member States and the Commission, for instance the Erasmus+ Teacher Academies, aim to support competent, motivated and highly qualified teachers, trainers, educators and school leaders, and promote their continuing professional development, including in the area of digital skills. Furthermore, EU Code Week and the Digital Education Hackathon intend to promote stakeholder engagement and grass-roots innovation in digital education and skills. Similarly, the new European strategy for a better internet for kids (BIK+) (38) promotes engagement with stakeholders, including through the network of Safer Internet Centres, to create a safer internet for children. These initiatives support the development of digital skills and competences in the non-formal sector and should be further promoted as a means to support the development of digital skills and competences using an integrated approach, with the participation of all relevant stakeholders at national, regional and local level.

19.

Companies play a crucial role in upskilling and reskilling their staff, but large discrepancies exist. According to 2022 Eurostat data, only a small proportion of SMEs (20.9 %) provided training to their staff to enhance their ICT-related skills, compared with 69.5 % of large companies (39). The Pact for Skills invites businesses, social partners and public organisations to join forces and take concrete action to upskill and reskill the workforce across the Union. Furthermore, the Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition brings together Member States, companies, social partners, non-profit organisations and education providers to work together to address the lack of digital skills in Europe.

20.

The national recovery and resilience plans demonstrate Member States’ political impetus for further developing digital skills for learners, teachers and the workforce and for ensuring an adequate legal framework and the equipment and infrastructure required for that purpose. While most Member States have developed strategies for digital skills, it is also important to foresee a coherent and progressive path going through all levels and types of education and training (40). A recent report from the Commission on quality investments in education and training (41) highlights the need for an impact assessment of the various programmes on learners’ learning outcomes. The issue is of a general nature and applies equally to digital skills. The findings also underline that the use of digital technologies for teaching and learning can, if properly planned and designed, offer huge opportunities to boost educational outcomes. At the same time, it is vital to mitigate the risks of digital exclusion or the inappropriate use of technology.

21.

This Recommendation fully respects the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality. Member States will decide, according to their national circumstances, how to implement the Recommendation,