Italy’s National Strategy for Digital Skills

Italy’s National Strategy for Digital Skills is a comprehensive plan aimed at addressing the significant lack of digital skills among the Italian population. The strategy is part of the broader ‘Repubblica Digitale’ initiative, which focuses on the country’s digital transformation. The strategy was drafted jointly with various stakeholders, including ministries, regions, universities, and companies, and is coordinated by the Department for Digital Transformation.

The strategy identifies four lines of intervention:

1. Higher Education and Training: To develop e-skills for young people within the mandatory education cycles, focusing on emerging technologies and key competencies for future jobs.
2. Active Workforce: To ensure adequate e-skills in both the private and public sectors, including e-leadership skills, and to enhance the country’s ability to develop skills for new markets and new jobs.
3. ICT Specialist Skills: To enhance the country’s ability to develop skills for new markets and new jobs, with a specific focus on emerging technologies and key competencies for future jobs.
4. Citizens: To develop the digital skills needed to exercise citizenship rights and promote active participation in democratic life.

The strategy includes specific objectives and lines of action for each line of intervention. The Operational Plan associated with the strategy includes targets for 2026, such as:

• Equipping 70% of the population with at least basic digital skills and bridging the gender skills gap in the ICT sector.
• Doubling the rate of Italian citizens with advanced digital skills.
• Increasing the number of graduates in ICT three times, with a fourfold increase in female graduates.
• Doubling the share of companies active in big data and increasing the employment of digital experts and ICT specialists in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The strategy is monitored through a dashboard of over 60 indicators, which are updated on a six-monthly basis to evaluate the general impact of the plan and improve its effectiveness. The strategy is part of the broader efforts to strengthen digital skills in Italy, which is crucial for the country’s social and economic development, as well as its recovery from the current crisis.