Roundtable on digital skills and jobs in Minsk

An EU4Digital roundtable on digital skills and jobs took place on 19 December 2019 in Minsk, underlining the economic potential that digital skills transformation could unlock in Belarus.

The event was attended by participants from Belarussian public institutions, universities, scientific institutes and ICT associations. 

The main objective of the event was to identify the community interested in the development of digital skills and jobs in Belarus. To explore the potential that digital skills transformation could bring to the national economy of Belarus, the event included discussions of European standards for digital competencies, digital leadership and experience sharing between Belarus and EU Member States, including in the creation, management and administration of National Digital Skills and Jobs Coalitions. 

The Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition is a multi-stakeholder partnership that aims to facilitate collaboration among business and education providers, as well as public and private actors to tackle the lack of digital skills. National Coalitions facilitate connecting public authorities, business, education, training and labour market stakeholders to develop concrete measures that bring digital skills and competences to all levels of education and training, and unite actions that aim to bridge both digital skills and digital jobs gaps.

After extensive discussion, participants agreed on the need for increased coordination to facilitate regular interaction in the field of digital skills and jobs.

 The eSkills network is a part of the EU4Digital initiative that focuses on supporting the development and implementation of national digital skills strategies in the EaP countries, notably by establishing national coalitions for digital jobs by following the approach of Digital Skills and Jobs Coalitions created in EU MS.