e-SkillsFostering Competitiveness, Growth and Jobs

e-Skills: Definitions

• ICT Practitioner skillsCapabilities 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 with ICT also 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 a knowledge-based society

The e-Skills Pyramid

e-Business skills

ICT practitioner skills

ICT user skills

digital literacy

ICT practitioner skills: these are the 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: these represent the capabilities required for the effective application of ICT systems and devices by the individual. ICT users apply systems as tools in support of their own work. User skills cover the use of common software tools and of specialised tools supporting business functions within industry. At the general level, they cover "digital literacy".

e-Business skills (also called e-leadership skills): these correspond to the 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.

Europe’s Pyramid Ratings

ICT Practitioners in Europe

Overall trend: steady growth in numbers• More than 4 million ICT practitioners* in Europe• From 2.73 million in 2000 to 4.14 million in 2010 • Number has doubled since 1995 • Majority of ICT practitioners (54.5%) are working in ICT

user industries• 45.5% are working in the ICT sector‘Inflows’ = down (e.g. computer science graduates)‘Outflows’ = up (e.g. retirements)

* ISCO213 computer professionals and ISCO312 computer associate professionals

ICT Workforce Development (EU12 and EU15) 1995-2008

ICT Workforce EU27: 2000-2010

Decline of Supply

Computer science graduates in EU27

0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

120000

140000

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Forecasts: Excess Demand

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

-100

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

1'000 jobs

Turbo Knowledge

Investing in the Future

Back to Normal

Tradition Wins

Stagnation

Communication on e-SkillsAdopted by the European Commission on 7 September 2007

• The Communication on “e-Skills for the 21st Century” includes a long-term e-skills agenda. It was followed by:

• An e-Inclusion initiative Adopted by the European Commission on 8 November 2007

• Council Conclusions concerning the e-skills strategy Competitiveness Council on 23 November 2007

• Europe 2020 Flagships adopted in 2010 (Digital Agenda, Innovation Union etc.)

Action Lines at EU level

• Promoting long-term cooperation • Developing supporting actions and tools • Fostering employability and social inclusion • Raising awareness • Promoting better and greater use of e-learning

Main Activities at EU Level (2008-2011)

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 Assessing impact of cloud computing, cyber-security and green IT European Framework for ICT Professionalism

External Evaluation

• Good progress has been made

• ICT industry, governments and stakeholders are increasingly partnering

• European Commission is the driving force to promote e-skills in Europe

• National governments followed (e.g. new initiatives in The Netherlands, Malta etc.) or refocused their own existing initiatives (e.g. e-Skills UK etc.)

European e-Competence Framework

European e-Competence Framework

• A common pan-European framework for ICT practitioners in all industry sectors : it is a reference framework of 36 ICT competences that can be used 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 Curriculum Guidelines

e-Skills Industry Leadership Board

European e-Skills and Careers Portal

New Initiatives in 2012

• New initiative on e-Leadership skills: vision, roadmap and foresight scenarios (SMEs and start-ups)

• European Quality labels for ICT industry based training and certifications (based on EQAVET)

• European e-Skills Week (26-30 March 2012)• New Communication of the Commission « Towards a

Job-rich Recovery » accompanied by the Commission Staff Working Document « Exploiting the Employment Potential of ICT » (Draft March 2012)

European e-Skills Week

• March 2010: first awareness raising campaign on e-skills • Target groups: ICT Practitioners and young people• More than 440.000 people participated in 1.300 events• 284 Stakeholders (42 Pan-European) including educational

institutions, public bodies, NGOs, associations and industry

European e-Skills Conference (19/03/2012, Brussels)

European e-Skills Week 2012 (26 – 30 March 2012)http://eskills-week.ec.europa.eu

Contact

European CommissionDG Enterprise and Industry Unit D3: ICT for Competitiveness and Industrial InnovationB-1049 Brusselse-mail: andre.richier@ec.europa.eu

http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/ict/e-skills/index_en.htm