#MapTheGap: We all have a digital skills gap. What’s yours?

“Have you ever felt the need to learn a new digital skill?” – We asked ourselves this question repeatedly at the Launch Event “the Clock is Ticking: Digital Skills for a Digital Europe” on the 27th of April.

We all lack one digital skill or two. Maybe you deleted your last interview recording by mistake? Or you published your article before it was ready? Digital skills are not a given. In fact, every 2 out of 3 Europeans with low digital skills will need successful upskilling by 2025 to reach the targets set in the EU Digital Education Action Plan, a new study says.

ALL DIGITAL, HUAWEI, supported by EY, have collaborated to raise awareness about the digital skills gap ahead of the release of their new study. With the help of a quick quiz, every European can see what digital skills they can improve. The quiz aims to map and personify the digital skills gap with 6 distinct personas: The Lost Investigator, The Silent Communicator, The Clumsy Creator, The Exposed Protector, The Disconnected Programmer, and The Confused Problem-solver.

The inspiration for these personas comes from the findings of the joint White Paper on digital skills and talent in the European Union. The study has been presented at a launch event on 27 April 2022 at Solvay Library in Brussels before a community of experts.

While the White Paper explores in-depth the root causes of the digital skills gap in regards to ICT talent, the quiz raises awareness of our digital skills shortages and allows for a broader understanding of the problem. The White Paper also reveals possible solutions and concrete actions that key stakeholders can take to bridge the digital skills gap.

The White Paper is structured around five particular areas of opportunity:
● Improve and increase ICT education and learning opportunities
● Prioritise talent within companies: up/re-skilling
● Encourage and support women in ICT
● Drive collaborative digital skills ecosystems
● Invest in the digitalisation of public services

The study sheds light on some alarming findings - nearly 1 out of 5 employed ICT specialists had low overall digital skills, while almost 80% of the digital skills gap is due to digital skills mismatch, indicating there is an urgent need for digital upskilling.

The EU study is one of the four talent White Paper series, covering Spain, South Africa and China. The other three papers will be released separately in May.

#MapTheGap #EYY2022