The achievements and future goals of the EU4Digital Facility’s Digital Skills stream were presented during a high-level meeting held on 8 October 2020, as part of the second annual Steering Committee Meeting of the EU4Digital Initiative, running from 5-9 October.

More than 60 participants including representatives of Eastern partner country ministries, EU Delegations, and EU institutions were welcomed by Mr. Arturas Piliponis, EU4Digital Team Leader.

Representatives of the Digital Skills stream presented their progress on several activities, including the development of a Methodology for Measuring and Forecasting Digital Skills Gaps, the development of aDigital Competence Framework for SMEs and Microbusinesses in the Eastern partner countries, and the ongoing support and progress on establishing National Digital Skills and Jobs Coalitions in the Eastern partner countries.

The future goals of Digital Skills stream include:

• Finishing the development of the Guidelines for the use of the Digital Competence Framework and four Job Role Profiles. The Guidelines include instructions on how to apply the European e-Competence Framework and Digital Competence Framework for Citizens to SMEs and microbusinesses in the Eastern partner countries, by presenting several use cases. 
• Further support to Eastern partner countries in establishing and running National Coalitions, including trainings, sharing best EU practices and recommendations on running and managing the established National Coalitions.
• Organisation of trainings, study visits, conferences for policy makers and training providers, and a promotion campaign on digital skills topics. 

During the thematic session, the EU4D Facility also discussed their vision of possible improvements in the digital skills area beyond 2021, including the expansion of measurements of digital maturity, improved digital skills initiative coordination, and use of EU frameworks and tools to continue the improvement of digital skills for various target groups in the Eastern partner countries. 

After the presentation by representatives of the Digital Skills stream, Ms. Mary Zakaryan, the EU4Digital Digital Skills Network Coordinator representing the Ministry of High-Tech Industry of the Republic of Armenia, presented feedback from her Network. She noted that the work carried out by EU4Digital is highly engaging due to the involvement of external experts, while also providing a platform for countries to share their insights on digital skills.

The feedback from the Digital Skills Network was followed by a presentation by Mr. Alessandro Brolpito, the European Training Foundation’s (ETF) Digital Skills & Learning Senior Specialist, who gave a brief overview of the ETF’s recent work on mapping policies and initiatives related to digital skills and online learning in vocational education and training in the Eastern partner countries.

The thematic session was concluded by a discussion and Q&A session. Country representatives updated participants on their progress, priorities and plans in the digital skills area, and reiterated the importance of continued efforts to tackle the digital skills gap.

The EU4Digital Second Annual Steering Committee Meeting was organised by the EU4Digital Facility as a series of virtual sessions, reviewing results achieved under the programme and discussing upcoming Eastern Partnership priorities in the digital sector.