(Press-News.org) Contact information: Elena Verdesoto Gonzalez
JRC-PRESS@ec.europa.eu
European Commission Joint Research Centre
First EU e-Inclusion map measures the potential for improved digital literacy
An EU-27 survey of intermediary organisations operating on the education, social and employment sectors and providing IT training has produced a first ever assessment of the e-Inclusion intermediary sector. It accounts for a total of 250,000 organisations, or one e-Inclusion actor per every 2,000 inhabitants. One in two employs 10 staff or less and operates on a budget smaller than €100,000. Half of the e-Inclusion actors go further and offer employment–related training. And for two out of three, local government funding is the main financial resource.
Competence in using a computer and common office software has almost become a necessary skill to access the job market in the 21st century. About 85% of jobs in 2020 will require some sort of ICT skills, according to the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP). Moreover, there is an increasing shortage of ICT skilled labour in Europe. Digital literacy and skills hence become a pre-condition for employability.
Based on the evidence of this mapping exercise, 80% of the e-Inclusion organisations provide public access to computers, to Internet and to digital literacy training. Half of the organisations studied offer employment-related training such as online job seeking skills, application, CV development, as well as use of social media and other collaborative software.
Local governments appear to play a very important role as a funding source for e-Inclusion actors since almost 67% of organisations report this source as one of their top three. Local government funding is followed by national government funding (29%), European Union funding (25%), and usage/service fee revenue (22%) as the most important sources of funding
Close to 50% of the organisations have operating budgets of less than €100,000 and a small percentage of the organisations (11%) have budgets above €1 million. Understanding the sector which provides digital training outside formal education can help policymakers to shape guidelines for a more inclusive labour market, one of the main goals of the European Commission's Europe 2020 Strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.
In March 2013, the European Commission launched a Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs, an EU wide multi-stakeholder partnership helping to address a shortfall in the number of European citizens with ICT professional skills and to exploit the employment creation potential of ICT. It will be a key European policy challenge to support the innovation processes created and the services provided by e-Inclusion organisations. Creating the conditions for a larger involvement of the private sector and strengthening the role of the e-Inclusion actors may prove essential to address the challenges of digital exclusion, employability and labour shortage of ICT skilled workers.
###
Background:
With the participation of Telecentre-Europe and the University of Washington Information School, the JRC study "Mapping e-Inclusion actors in EU27" surveyed nearly 3,000 organisations from the public, third and private sector, which play a central role in fighting digital exclusion and developing employability. The study examined the way e-Inclusion actors operate, looking at programmes and the services they provide, their funding, target groups and users data collection.
The study is part of a larger project – known as MIREIA – conducted by JRC and the European Commissions' Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content & Technology. MIREIA stands for "Measuring the Impact of e-Inclusion Actors on Digital Literacy, Skills and Inclusion goals of the Digital Agenda for Europe"
Related links:
Survey on e-Inclusion Actors in the EU27: http://ipts.jrc.ec.europa.eu/publications/pub.cfm?id=6720
MIREIA research project: http://is.jrc.ec.europa.eu/pages/EAP/eInclusion/MIREIA.html
First EU e-Inclusion map measures the potential for improved digital literacy
2013-11-18
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Cesarean delivery doesn't lower risk of cerebral palsy
2013-11-18
Cesarean delivery doesn't lower risk of cerebral palsy
Cesarean deliveries do not prevent children from developing cerebral palsy, despite long-held medical and community beliefs about the causes of cerebral palsy, according to new research ...
A study led by CNIO validates a new anti-cancer therapy based on cell division
2013-11-18
A study led by CNIO validates a new anti-cancer therapy based on cell division
The study confirms the therapeutic potential of inhibiting Aurora-A in cancer treatment
Aurora-A is a protein involved in the cell division process that is highly expressed ...
Spanish scientists are designing a robot for inspecting tunnels
2013-11-18
Spanish scientists are designing a robot for inspecting tunnels
Currently, maintenance and safety inspection of tunnels used for vehicular traffic is carried out by direct in situ observation. This process, which is slow and requires intensive labor, requires that traffic ...
Boredom research has now become more interesting
2013-11-18
Boredom research has now become more interesting
Researchers identify fifth type of tedium -- apathetic boredom
Being bored has just become a little more nuanced, with the addition of a fifth type of boredom by which to describe this emotion. The finding has been published ...
Teens who drink alone more likely to develop alcohol problems as young adults
2013-11-18
Teens who drink alone more likely to develop alcohol problems as young adults
Results also show adolescents drink alone to cope with negative emotions
PITTSBURGH—Most teenagers who drink alcohol do so with their friends in social settings, but a new study by researchers ...
Study reveals potential breakthrough in hearing technology
2013-11-18
Study reveals potential breakthrough in hearing technology
Computer processes sound, filters out background noise for the hearing-impaired
Multilevel study finds no link between minimum wage and crime rates
2013-11-18
Multilevel study finds no link between minimum wage and crime rates
A new study out of the University of Cincinnati is a unique examination into whether public policy on the minimum wage can affect the crime rate. The study finds that, contrary to conventional belief, ...
Medication adherence after hospitalization for acute coronary syndrome
2013-11-18
Medication adherence after hospitalization for acute coronary syndrome
Patients better adhered to their medication regimens in the year following hospitalization for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) when they were part of a program that included personalized attention ...
Penn produces graphene nanoribbons with nanopores for fast DNA sequencing
2013-11-18
Penn produces graphene nanoribbons with nanopores for fast DNA sequencing
The instructions for building all of the body's proteins are contained in a person's DNA, a string of chemicals that, if unwound and strung end to end, would form a sentence 3 billion ...
Respiratory disorder in the ocean
2013-11-18
Respiratory disorder in the ocean
German-Peruvian science team demonstrates the influence of eddies on the oxygen sustenance
Observations show that in large regions of the tropical oceans, the so-called oxygen minimum zones (OMZ), the oxygen content ...