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There has been growing recognition in Europe of the importance of e-Skills, covering the skills of ICT Practitioners, of ICT Users and skills for e-Business. The significance of these skills, in relation to both the productivity of organizations – whether private or public – around Europe and the earning power and social inclusion of European citizens, has been of growing interest to European institutions, and a range of activities are already underway, involving major stakeholders of various kinds.

The agenda has been set by the work of the European e-Skills Forum. This group, where many relevant stakeholders contributed and CEPIS played an active part, proposed - in its Synthesis Report in 2004 - a series of strategic recommendations. Because of the all-pervasive role of ICT, effective implementation of these proposals is likely to make important contributions to the achievement of the Lisbon objectives: to make Europe, by 2010, the “ most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion”.

The European Commission has awarded a contract for a one-year study on Foresight Scenarios for e-skills within Europe to a consortium led by CEPIS – the Council of European Professional Informatics Societies involving PREST, the centre of excellence for Policy Research on Engineering, Science and Technology at the University of Manchester, and Eurochambres - the Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry. The study team will be led by Dr. Matthew Dixon, Labour Market Adviser to CEPIS and SEMTA Visiting Research Fellow at SKOPE, University of Oxford.

Straightening out the world of e-Skills is a very important challenge. While the importance is undeniable and there is widespread interest, a structured and valid factual basis for policy analysis at the European level is not easy to come by. A range of studies over recent years in EU Member States have thrown light onto various aspects of the issue, but there is a rather limited base of consistent evidence about the realities of the labour market for these skills and arrangements for their acquisition. The picture continues to change relentlessly as new ICT capabilities, products and services emerge. The project will build on the recent work by Rand Europe for the Commission on the Supply and Demand of e-skills in Europe.
http://www.menon.org/Benchmarking/.

Last modified:
13.07.2006 17:12
foresights@cepis.org