e-Skills for the 21st Century
Competitiveness, Innovation, Growth and Jobs
1 December 2010, Berlin
EU Communication on e-Skills
Adopted by the European Commission on 7 September 2007
The Communication on “e-Skills for the 21st Century” includes:
 A long-term e-skills agenda
 Five action lines at EU Level
It was followed by:
 An e-Inclusion initiative focusing on digital literacy
Adopted by the European Commission on 8 November 2007
 Council Conclusions concerning the e-skills strategy
Adopted by the Competitiveness Council on 23 November 2007
under the Portuguese Presidency
e-Skills: The Definitions
 ICT Practitioner skills
Capabilities required for researching, developing, designing, strategic planning, managing,
producing, consulting, marketing, selling, integrating, installing, administering, maintaining,
supporting and servicing ICT systems
 ICT User skills
Capabilities required for the effective application of ICT systems and devices by the
individual. At the general level, they cover “digital literacy” which relates to the confident and
critical use of ICT for work, leisure, learning and communication. In the workforce, ICT users
apply systems as tools in support of their own work. ICT user skills cover the use of common
software tools and of specialised tools supporting business functions within industry.
 e-Business skills (also called e-Leadership skills)
Capabilities needed to exploit opportunities provided by ICT, notably the Internet, to ensure
more efficient and effective performance of different types of organisations; to explore
possibilities for new ways of conducting business/administrative and organisational
processes and/or to establish new businesses
A Broad Set of Skills
Successful innovation in ICT services requires:
 cross-disciplinary, cognitive and problem-solving skills
 understanding of the fundamentals of business
 communication skills
 competence in foreign languages
These skills should be provided in a lifelong learning context
and in the wider context of a core set of competences equipping
all citizens for the knowledge-based economy and society.
Europe’s Skills Pyramid
Source: Insead eLab, March 2009
Action Lines
Member States level
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Longer term cooperation
Human resources investment
Attractiveness of ICT education
Employability and e-inclusion
Lifelong acquisition of e-skills
European level
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Promoting long-term cooperation
Developing supporting actions and tools
Fostering employability and social inclusion
Raising awareness
Promoting better and greater use of e-learning
ICT Practitioners in Europe
 More than 4 million ICT practitioners* in Europe
 Number has doubled since 1995
 Majority of ICT practitioners (54.5%) are working
in ICT user industries
 45.5% are working in the ICT industry
* ISCO213 computer professionals and ISCO312 computer associate professionals
ICT workforce development
(EU12 and EU15) 1995-2008
Declining Supply
Forecasts: Excess demand
700
1'000 jobs
600
500
Turbo Knowledge
400
Investing in the Future
300
Back to Normal
200
Tradition Wins
Stagnation
100
0
-100
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
 Foresight study anticipates that the EU labour market may face an excess
demand of 384,000 ICT practitioners by 2015
 According to survey, in five years time only 10% of all jobs in the EU will not
require e-skills
Sources: Foresight Report for the European Commission: "Anticipating the Development of the Supply and
Demand of e-Skills in Europe 2010-2015“ (empirica and IDC, November 2009) and IDC White Paper "Post
Crisis: e-Skills Are Needed to Drive Europe's Innovation Society", November 2009
Main Activities at EU Level
(2008-2010)
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Benchmarking Multi-stakeholder Partnerships
European e-Competence Framework
European e-Skills and Career Portal
Monitoring Supply and Demand
Assessing the Impact of Global Sourcing
Developing Foresight Scenarios
Benchmarking: Financial and Fiscal Incentives in Europe
European e-Competences Curricula Development Guidelines
European e-Skills Workshops and Conferences
European e-Skills 2010 Week: Awareness Raising Campaign
E-Learning Exchange Mechanisms
External Evaluation
European e-Competences Framework
 A common European framework for ICT practitioners in all
industry sectors : it is a reference framework of 36 ICT
competences that can be used and understood by ICT user and
supply companies, the public sector, educational and social
partners across Europe.
 The framework provides a tool for:
 ICT practitioners and managers, with clear guidelines for their
competence development
 Human resources managers, enabling the anticipation and
planning of competence requirements
 Education and training, enabling effective planning and design of
ICT curricula
 Policy makers and market researchers, providing a clear and
Europe-wide agreed reference for ICT skills and competences in a
long-term perspective.
European e-Competences Framework
http://www.ecompetences.eu
European e-Competences Curriculum Guidelines
www.insead.edu/facultyresearch/centres/ecompetences
E-Skills Industry Leadership Board
http://www.e-skills-ilb.org
European e-Skills and Careers Portal
http://eskills.eun.org
European e-Skills Week
 A major awareness raising campaign in Europe to promote e-skills
 Target groups: ICT Practitioners and SMEs
 35 countries covered
 More than 440.000 people participated in 1.300 events
 65 Million people touched by campaign
 284 Stakeholders (42 Pan-European) including educational
institutions, public bodies, NGOs, associations and industry
Digital Agenda
The Commission should:
 Propose digital literacy and competences as a priority for
the European Social Fund regulation (2014-2020)
 By 2012, develop tools to identify and recognise the
competences of ICT practitioners and users, linked to the
European Qualifications Framework and to EUROPASS and
develop a European Framework for ICT Professionalism
 Make digital literacy and skills a priority of the "New Skills and
Jobs“ flagship … including the launch of a multi-stakeholder
sectoral council for ICT skills and employment
Digital Agenda
Member States should:
 Implement by 2011 long-term e-skills and digital literacy
policies and promote relevant incentives for SMEs and
disadvantaged groups;
 Mainstream e-learning in national policies for the
modernisation of education and training, including in curricula,
assessment of learning outcomes and the professional
development of teachers and trainers.
Innovation Union
 In 2011 the Commission will support an independent multi-dimensional
international ranking system to benchmark university performance ...
The Commission will also support business-academia collaborations
through the creation of "Knowledge Alliances" … to develop new
curricula addressing innovation skills gaps (see also commitment on
e-skills).
 In 2011, the Commission will propose an integrated framework for the
development and promotion of e-skills for innovation and
competitiveness, based on partnerships with stakeholders. This will
be based on supply and demand, pan-European guidelines for new
curricula, quality labels for industry-based training and awarenessraising activities.
New Skills and Jobs
 The Commission will continue to support the creation of
sectoral skills' councils at European level when an initiative
comes from stakeholders such as social partners or the relevant
observatories.
 By 2012, propose an EU-wide approach and instruments to
support Member States in the integration of ICT competences
and digital literacy (e-skills) into core lifelong learning policies.
The Main Instruments: CIP/EIP
and CEN ICT Skills Workshop
Major projects in 2011:
CIP/EIP
 E-Skills and ICT Professionalism
 E-Skills for Practitioners and Entrepreneurs
CEN ICT Skills Workshop
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European End-user e-Competence Framework
E-Jobs profiles and Qualifications
Implementing the European e-Competence Framework into ICT SMEs
ICT Certification
CIP/EIP Workprogramme for
2011-2012
e-Skills for Competitiveness and Innovation
 Developing a coherent vision and roadmap as well as foresight
scenarios on the supply and demand of e-skills and digital competence
for competitiveness and innovation, required by the professionals in the
EU industries in close interaction with stakeholders and the "Sectoral
Council for ICT Skills and Employment";
 Developing quality labels for training compatible with the European
Quality Assurance Reference Framework for Vocational Education and
Training (EQAVET) fostering e-skills for competitiveness and innovation
based on the needs of enterprises of all sectors (with a focus on cloud
computing);
 Supporting awareness raising campaigns (based on the experience of
the first European e- Skills Week organised in 2010) and the promotion of
best practices.
Conclusion
 As we face a severe financial and economic crisis, a long
term EU e-skills strategy is increasingly important
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Short-sighted thinking is dangerous
Quality vs. Quantity
Focus on innovation skills not on pure technical skills
Attractiveness, quality and relevance of ICT education
The “right” skills at the “right” time
 EU2020, Digital Agenda, Innovation Union, New Skills
and Jobs, Industrial Policy
 Using ICT more, and using them in better ways, is crucial for
Europe's economy.
 We must develop the e-skills of the EU's 500 million citizens,
and develop a new generation of ICT practitioners
More information
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/ict/e-skills/index_en.htm
Contact
 European Commission
Enterprise and Industry Directorate-General
Directorate: Innovation Policy
Unit D4: ICT for Competitiveness and Innovation
B-1049 Brussels
fax: +32 2 296 70 19
E-mail: andre.richier@ec.europa.eu