Virtually all young people are familiar with electronic games and social networking and might be considered as “digital natives”, but they are not “digitally competent” in the sense that they do not know sufficiently how to use the digital world in a business context. Therefore the European Commission has launched the European e-Skills Week 2012 to mobilise stakeholders to inform young people on how to acquire e-skills and find jobs in the digital economy. By 2015, 90% of jobs will need e-skills. The number of ICT practitioners in Europe was 4.7 million in 2007 and is forecast to reach 5.26 million in 2015. In more general terms, jobs for highly-qualified people are expected to rise by 16 million between now and 2020, while those held by low-skilled workers will decline by around 12 million. This huge amount of up-skilling can only be achieved with e-skills. It is a precondition to become employable, learn and find a job online.
European Commission Vice-President Antonio Tajani, Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship, said: “Young people need to appreciate the professional aspects of the new digital world. I am worried, as supply has become a bottleneck for growth in the tech sector, creating a leaky pipeline that threatens to hamper European innovation and global competitiveness. This is more important than ever in the current economic context. And it is crucial to increase creativity which will favour entrepreneurship and new start-ups.
Numerous activities and events will take place during the e-Skills Week in Europe. To learn about them and get the latest information, please look at the website: http://eskills-week.ec.europa.eu. Here to read more.
