IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

European schools need more support in providing ICT education, with investment in teacher training required to boost digital skill levels.

A survey conducted by the European Commission into the use of digital technologies in schools across 27 countries has shown that although there has been a growth in access to equipment, more needs to be done to ensure that all teachers and students have access, and not just a "lucky few".

The upsurge of the ICT industry is creating an increasing number of jobs in the sector. However, educational institutions across Europe struggle to keep up with this phenomenon, as the number of skilled graduates to take on these positions is in decline. According to the European Commission, this may lead to a situation where the number of unfilled vacancies could reach 700,000 over the next three years.

European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes said in this regard: "2013 will be the busiest year yet for the Digital Agenda. My top priorities are to increase broadband investment and to maximise the digital sector's contribution to Europe's recovery." The digital economy is growing at seven times the rate of the rest of the economy, but this potential is currently impeded by a patchy pan-European policy framework.

The new generations of children use ICT on a daily basis at home, but not as much in school as they should in order to stimulate creativity, experts said at the Parliament event on Tuesday (22 January).

A champion technology needs a noble cause. In this case, the cause is better access for all Europeans to the benefits that ‘always-on’ fast internet can bring. Researchers in the European NOBEL project know this better than anyone.

Speaking at a conference in Sofia, the EU commisioner for Europe’s so-called “Digital Agenda” said that, in the near future, almost all jobs will require “some kind of digital skills.” Demand for highly skilled ICT workers is already growing at 3 pc a year, she said.

Kroes warned that, because Europe isn’t providing enough IT skilled labor, there could be as many as 700,000 unfilled ICT vacancies by 2015.

The ICT sector in Europe is facing a massive skills shortage, with up to 700,000 unfilled jobs and declining competitiveness, the European Commission has warned.

While the number of digital jobs is growing by 3% each year, in spite of the economic downturn, the number of new ICT graduates and other skilled ICT workers is shrinking, according to EC figures.

The topic of today does both. The digital revolution brings huge potential to improve lives, save public money and enhance enterprise, employment and wealth.

Twenty years ago, few had heard of the Internet: today, between and 2 and 3 billion people use it.

Already today, it's an 8 trillion dollar marketplace; and a platform for huge innovation. Today, on the fixed Internet alone, one day of traffic is equivalent to a whole year's worth back in 2000.

The EC expects results of the survey, conducted by DG Connect, to be published in June.

The European Commission(EC) is telling us that it is imperative that Information Communication Technology (ICT) is taught at schools and is taught well.

The EC has just completed a study of how ICT is taught across its member states. It is a mixed bag that has an assortment of findings.

In its study the EC found that most teachers recommended a "radical policy change", adding that there are still a large number of students with restricted access to computers and ICT equipment.

More evidence is accumulating that Europe has some big questions to answer when it comes to introducing IT properly to its millions of schoolchildren.

Thus only 25% of European nine-year-olds attend a school with up-to-date information and communications technology (ICT) equipment, broadband of 10 Mbps or higher and reasonable levels of connectivity -- e.g., email for students and teachers, any kind of virtual learning environments, local networks and so on, according to a European Commission study.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has pledged every home in the UK is to get next-generation broadband.

In a speech on the UK's digital future, the PM said the government will seek to "make Britain the leading superfast broadband digital power, creating 100 per cent access to every home".

Information technology and electronics are becoming entwined with our everyday lives in industry, the service sector, transport, logistics, health care, housing, education, and our leisure time, almost without our noticing it.

The changes are already apparent to consumers in the energy sector, for example: remotely readable meters are rapidly becoming more common, enabling developments such as new pricing models that encourage the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. The remote control of machines and devices is experiencing substantial growth and spreading to smaller and smaller appliances. Smart buildings use building automation to control their own functions to an ever greater extent, and remote health care applications are increasing apace with the ageing of the population.

He said connecting rural communities on the continent to tackle challenges in education, health and governance required a people-centred, inclusive and development-oriented information society.