Digital skills Archives

At a time of rising inequality across Europe, the European Investment Bank and the World Economic Forum have jointly sounded the alarm bell and called for social inclusion to become an organic part of EU economic policy.

Andrus Ansip, the European Commission Vice-President in charge of digital policy, said he cannot imagine a “mass unemployment scenario” stemming from automation, although he acknowledged technology will bring job losses over the coming years.

Europe lacks a "global mentality" when it comes to innovation in the digital technology sector, Director of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT Digital) Willem Jonker told EURACTIV Spain.

John Hagel III is an enthusiastic supporter of the opportunities that innovation and technology can bring. However, the digital transformation of the economy and society is going to be “challenging and stressful for most people", Hagel told EURACTIV.com

Inclusive growth became a dominant topic at this year's World Economic Forum (17-20 January). Martina Larkin, the head of Europe and Eurasia for the Forum, admitted there is no “obvious model” for it.

BuzzFeed UK Europe Editor Alberto Nardelli advocates for more translation and localisation of media content, as well as more cooperation to balance out the often biased English-speaking press.

Il Sole 24 Ore Deputy Editor-in-Chief Fabio Carducci believes that commercial and editorial teams should collaborate more and shared his views on journalistic standards and on re-launching the EU.

European leaders can't keep pretending freedom of movement is not an issue. Whether, in the context of Brexit or the migration crisis, inaction is undermining people's confidence in the EU, says Emma Tucker.

EU legislators today (12 January) called for a universal basic income to combat the looming risk of job loss by the onward march of robots, as well as concerns about European welfare systems.

Europe is creating digital jobs but lacks the skilled workforce to fill them. The Commission should promote the benefits of action at national level without drowning member states in red tape, writes Jamie Greene.

Computers are becoming more powerful every day and are fundamentally changing our societies. We must act now to defend jobs, wages and equality in the dawning digital age, write Gianni Pittella and Sergei Stanishev.

The advent of the gig economy has brought fundamental changes to the way in which we access goods and services and turned traditional business models on their head.  Denis Pennel considers its impact on employment and the likely implications for the future of work.

A majority of EU governments are expected tomorrow (29 November) to back – at least partly – the ride-hailing firm’s claim of being a digital platform, opening the way for a lighter regulatory oversight of the American-based company than if it was considered like a normal transport firm.

Andrus Ansip, the EU's tech policy chief, insisted today that he is against laws that weaken encryption technology, but also that there is no “black and white” solution to help law enforcement authorities access secured data in investigations.

Most IT professionals lack the skills they need to do their job effectively. As the profession matures, we need to ensure our workforce has the skills it needs for the future, writes Fiona Fanning.

Five EU countries said they want the European Commission to propose legislation that would make it easier for police to crack through encryption technology.

The European Commission has been coaxing EU countries to improve technology education in an effort to cut unemployment and help companies as they rely more on internet-connected programmes and machines.

As EU Code Week puts the spotlight on skills needed for the digital economy, it is important that vulnerable segments of European society are not left further behind, writes Ilona Kish.

Learning the language of code is fast becoming an essential skill for the next generation in our increasingly digital world, writes Seán Kelly.

The eSkills campaigns, launched in 2010, have contributed to reducing the gap in the EU between demand and supply of digital skills jobs, according to the European Commission.

Europe faces some daunting challenges – an aging population, sluggish growth, an influx of migrants and refugees – yet in the age of data-driven innovation, it also has powerful new tools to help address them, writes Nick Wallace.

Being connected to the internet has become "vital" for farmers' everyday work, says Martin Merrild. But this should not encourage regulators to introduce new control programmes that will make farmers’ life even more difficult, he told EURACTIV.com in an interview.

Even the best security software will not keep a company’s data safe if its employees are not adequately trained. The EU must deliver on its Skills Guarantee to keep Europe’s workforce one step ahead of the data thieves, writes Austeja Trinkunaite.

Europe’s economy has clearly seen better days. Facing great technological and societal change, it is marred by a sluggish recovery and a lack of investment, write Reinhard Bütikofer and Philippe Lamberts.