Launch of study on digital skills in the workplace

Digital technologies are having a massive impact on the economy, spreading through all sectors and changing the way economic value is created, the jobs people do, how they do them and the skills they need for those jobs. In particular, it is increasing the need for digital skills in the workplace. While digital technologies are replacing some "routine" tasks they are also creating jobs; not least for skilled ICT professionals. Furthermore, they are increasingly complementing the human effort employed in many jobs making them more efficient and improving their outcomes and quality. As, however, there is currently only limited data available on this topic, the Commission has launched a new study: "ICT for Work: Digital skills in the workplace".

The study, which started in December last year, is being carried out by ECORYS and DTI and will run over 15 months. The goal is to get a picture of the digital skills needs of the workforce, where skills are lacking most and how enterprises deal with lacking skills. The study will gather this information through a survey of employers in six EU countries (DE, FI, PT, SE, SK and the UK) covering a broad selection of sectors and occupational groups.  The study will produce an estimate of the proportion of jobs in the EU that require digital skills. It will also include a set of job profiles exemplifying  occupations for which recent developments in ICT and/or its use have caused a major change in the digital skills needed to carry out the job or has resulted in the emergence of a new occupation.
The results of this study will therefore provide for the first time comprehensive new evidence regarding digital skills for work and will thus feed the Commission's work on digital skills and the Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs (Text taken from: ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/news/launch-study-digital-skills-workplace)