In today’s world, digital skills are increasingly important. However, within the EU, little progress
has been made in recent years in improving basic digital competence among adult Europeans. The
Commission has issued guidance and supported Member States, but there have been relatively
few EU-funded projects focusing on basic digital literacy for adults. The European Court of
Auditors (ECA) has reviewed what the EU has done to increase digital skills among adults, and
what is planned for the 2021-2027 period.
In 2019, more than 75 million European adults of working age did not have at least basic digital skills.
This was particularly the case for older people, those with a low level of education and the
unemployed. At the same time, over 90 % of jobs already require at least basic digital skills.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the importance of basic digital skills for citizens,”
said Iliana Ivanova, the ECA member responsible for the review. “We observe that adults with
higher digital competence find jobs more easily; they also earn more than their less skilled peers. Our
review shows that the EU has long recognised the importance of basic digital skills for all citizens but
there is still a lot to be done. Now is the ideal time to shed light on this issue and I hope that our key
stakeholders will find our review useful in their preparations for the start of the new 2021-2027
programme period”.
Education and vocational training is a Member State responsibility. However, the digital divide
between adults with and without basic digital skills varies considerably between Member States.
According to the indicators used by the Commission, levels of basic digital competence within Member
States have not significantly improved in recent years.
From 2015 onwards, the Commission took a number of measures to improve citizens’ digital skills.
As a result, between 2016 and 2018, national projects under the “Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition”
initiative offered nearly 11 million Europeans of all age groups a chance to improve their digital literacy.
However, around half of those were primary and secondary school students, and there are no figures on
what impactsuch activities ultimately had on this initiative’s objectives.
Activities in the specific area of basic digital skills for adults are normally part of wider initiatives. This
generally makes it impossible to determine the total EU funds spent in this area alone. Nevertheless, the available data suggests that funding specifically for adult digital upskilling is relatively low: for
instance, projects specifically addressing digital training in the Member States represented only
around 2 % of total ESF funding in the 2014-2020 period, even though this was a priority area.
For 2021-2027, the Commission has for the first time set a specific objective to increase the
proportion of citizens with basic digital skills, from 56 % in 2019 to 70 % in 2025. In order to assist
lawmakers and the authorities involved in programming and programme implementation, the
auditors point to some challenges. These relate to the allocation of specific amounts of future EU
programmes, the definition of sub-objectives and milestones and the consistent assessment of
digital skills in a constantly and rapidly changing digital environment.
Background information
This review is not the result of an audit but rather an analysis of mainly publicly available information. It
does not include any assessment of action taken by the Commission in this area or recommendations.
The auditorslook atthe development of basic digital skills among adults of working age (25-64) in recent
years in the context of EU action in this area since 2010, particularly in the last five years. The EU’s longterm high-level strategy, Europe 2020, which ran from 2010 to 2020, included the Digital Agenda for
Europe as one of its seven “flagship initiatives”. The EU thus also plays a role in helping Member States
to address common challenges, such as ageing societies, skills deficits, technological developments and
competition at a global level.
eca.europa.eu
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