Digital skills: bridging the gap

Yesterday (4th December), the European Youth Forum attended a high-level summit in Berlin, Digitising Europe, where our President Peter Matjašič, took part in a Q&A session on the opportunities for the younger generation in an increasingly digitised world. 350 business leaders, political decision makers, academics and innovators, entrepreneurs and young people attended the summit.

Germany's Chancellor, Angela Merkel, was the keynote speaker at the summit, which was organised by the Vodafone Institute for Society and Communications. In her speech, Chancellor Merkel called for more digital-based business and easier rules for start-ups. She also commented that a better digital strategy for Europe could help the economy and help to tackle youth unemployment.

During the summit international experts discussed the changes that are taking place in the world of work as a result of digitisation and how digitisation can stimulate growth and prosperity in Europe. Delegates also debated changes to education and training concepts that are necessary in order to effectively equip young people for the digital labour market. The event concluded with a debate on how to best harness the power of digital technology for tomorrow’s digital Europe.

Vodafone presented a detailed survey it had undertaken with young people across Europe on their views on the increased digitisation of society which found that most young Europeans share a rather positive outlook on the digital revolution while still acknowledging some of its risks. However, there are significant differences across Europe:

• Czech young people are less concerned about potential violations of privacy and more convinced that data protection is everyone’s own responsibility. Whereas, young Spaniards are worried about privacy violations more often than the average European.

• Young Brits are most convinced that the benefits of the digital revolution outweigh its risks and that they, along with the Dutch, are the least likely to limit their use of digital technologies

On the question of whether the digital revolution will create, destroy, or alter jobs, young Europeans are divided. While only a minority (10% to 18%) believe that actually jobs will be gained, the share of those who think that only the character of jobs will change (33% to 47%) is similar to that of those who think jobs will be lost (27% to 41%). Basic ICT skills are widely believed to be required in more jobs in the future by young Europeans. There is a universal confidence among young Europeans in their ability to perform those ICT skills they believe to be of high importance. Notable exceptions to this are data protection and database software, which, despite being seen as medium to highly important, young people feel less confident about than about skills of similar relevance.

The European Youth Forum was delighted to attend this important event and is convinced of the benefits the increased digitisation can bring to our society and to young people. However, the need for quality jobs, quality education and, overall, stronger autonomy and inclusion in society should steer the priorities of the Digital Agenda at the European and National levels. In terms of employment, new media and information technologies are crucial in fostering innovation and youth entrepreneurship. There is a need, however, to make sure that young people are able to take advantage of such opportunities by enhancing digital education. Furthermore, digitisation cannot be seen as a panacea to the crisis affecting young people, for which we need a whole raft of solutions including ambitious ones at macro-economic level.

Read Peter's blog post on "Digital skills: bridging the gap" : http://digitising-europe.eu/posts/6