17 Apr Get Online Week 2013 helps thousands of Europeans to overcome the e-skills gap
17 Apr, 2013
Nearly half of the European labour force (47%) [1] is not confident their computer and internet skills are sufficient in today’s labour market, while the demand for employees with ICT skills is growing considerably, by around 3% a year [2]. By 2015, 900.000 ICT job vacancies are forecasted to remain unfilled [3].
The Europe-wide Get Online Week campaign, organized in 26 countries between 18 and 24 March 2013, highlighted the essential role ICT skills play in today’s society and focused on encouraging young people to take up a career in ICT.
The Get Online Week campaign was organized for the fourth time by Telecentre-Europe, a Pan-European Association that represents 37 local network organizations operating across 27 countries and supported by the Get Online Week Alliance – formed by Accenture, Liberty Global and Microsoft.
Youth unemployment in the EU27 is higher than 20% [4], while the unmet demand for e-skills will be high in 2015, at a level that will be as much as double the number of qualified graduates [5]. That’s why the campaign this year focused on youth, especially on how to direct more young people into digital qualifications and jobs.
In the field, 26 national Get Online Week campaign partners joined efforts with ICT companies and public authorities and organized a range of activities in both the urban and rural areas of their countries to empower people to use technologies for better jobs and better lives.