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Today the European Commission publishes a report on the impact of information and communication technologies (ICT) on job quality. Looking at the evidence from 12 specific types of non-office jobs, the report found that the use of digital technologies is beginning to have a profound effect on the tasks carried out and the skills required for many jobs outside the traditional office.

The report is the first part of a wide-ranging study which will provide comprehensive evidence regarding digital skills in the workplace. The results will feed into the Commission's work on digital skills and its new initiative the Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition.

The 12 non-office based job profiles presented are: dairy farmer, machine operator, industrial designer, building electrician, transport clerk, car mechanic, police detective, VET teacher, property caretaker, doctor in a hospital, animator and desktop publisher.

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On the 10th of June, the European Commission has adopted a new and comprehensive Skills Agenda for Europe. The aim is to ensure that people develop a broad set of skills from early on in life and to make the most of Europe's human capital, which will ultimately boost employability, competitiveness and growth in Europe.

In the future, it is estimated that nearly all jobs will require some level of digital skills. The Digital Single Market could contribute €415 billion per year to the EU economy, therefore making the adoption of digital skills crucial step towards innovation and inclusion of EU citizens. According to studies, 70 million Europeans lack adequate reading and writing skills, and even more have poor numeracy and digitals skills. 40% of European employers report that they cannot find people with the right skills to grow and innovate. By 2020 there will be 756.000 unfilled vacancies for ICT professionals in the whole economy. New ways of working, including collaborative economy models, the digitalization of various facets of life, and changes in work organization across industries all have an impact on the types of skills needed.

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Eva Paunova, Bulgarian MEP and eSkills for Jobs Ambassador, believes that it is high time to make sure that young people are equipped with the right digital skills so that they can reach their full potential as innovators and leaders.

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In a joint blog post, Andrus Ansip, European Commission Vice-President for the #DigitalSingleMarket, and Günther H. Oettinger European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, stressed out the importance of having the right skills in the digital age.

As technology is changing almost every aspect of our lives, Europeans need digital skills as a basic requirement to get ahead in society as well as in the modern workplace. It is no longer just about reading or writing skills. Being able to use digital technologies and apply them in the workplace is indeed important for creating a more competitive and growth-oriented Europe. Coding and programming are increasingly seen as great way to get more young people interested in digital careers.

To tackle the digital skills gap, a broader, more inclusive and pan-European effort is required. On June 10, Marianne Thyssen, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility, launched the #EUSkillsAgenda - New Skills Agenda for Europe with a solid focus on digital skills and jobs with the planned Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition.

Furthermore, Andrus Ansip and Günther H. Oettinger write, the European Commission cannot do this alone, not even by working with national governments. The Coalition will bring together all interested parties from the public and private sectors - national authorities from the EU's 28 countries, education providers, employment services, for example - to develop and expand the pool of European digital talent. It will help to equip people with the right skills – young and old, the employed as well as jobseekers – and to improve their employability.

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This report provides new evidence on the effects of digital technologies on the demand for skills and discusses key policies for skills development adapted to the digital economy. Workers across an increasing range of occupations need generic and/or advanced ICT skills to use such technologies effectively. More fundamentally, the diffusion of digital technologies is changing how work is done, raising demand for complementary skills such as information processing, self-direction, problem solving and communication. This report discusses measures that can help to ensure that the diffusion of digital technologies is accompanied by the development of the skills needed for their effective use, an increase in the responsiveness of national skills development systems to changes in skills demand and of new learning opportunities created by digital technologies.

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